All Work And No Play
by WritePassion
Summary: With their agency becoming successful, Sam and Michael find themselves in over their heads. Something's got to give, because all work and no play makes a dull spy and creates casualties at home. Another in the Sam/Yvette series.
1. Chapter 1

**All Work And No Play**

By WritePassion

Esperanza Axe had a gift for figure skating. Her teacher said so, and she proved it at the southeast Florida junior competition. With her first gold medal hanging from her bedpost at home, Esperanza spurred herself to work harder at each practice. She had a competitive nature, and winning brought it out even more. After class the next Saturday, she spent extra time out on the rink while the other kids skated away to get back into their street clothes and shoes.

"Espie, time to go," Sam called as she seemed oblivious, moving to the music that was in her head, she knew it so well by now. "Espie! Now!" Still she ignored him. He sent out a shrill whistle, which finally got her attention.

"Just a few more minutes, Dad. Please?"

"No, we have to go! I need to meet your Uncle Mike."

"Oh, yeah." She stopped and put her hands on her hips, thinking about whether her father's meeting was more criticial than her skating. He could see Uncle Mike anytime. Didn't he realize how important it was for her to practice?

"Espie, I'm not gonna tell you again. Session's over, we've gotta go!" He glanced at his watch and shook his head. He was going to be late.

With a heavy sigh, she skated slowly toward the exit and gave her father a look. It was a good thing he didn't see it. He was too busy on the phone.

"Hey, what's this kid doing here? It's my ice time!"

Esperanza stopped and gaped at the woman who stepped on the rink and pushed off, gliding gracefully past her without a second look. But Espie was shocked, stunned, and frozen in one spot.

"Hey, you, get off the ice!"

"Huh? Who, me?"

"Yeah, you."

She looked up at the older man with a Russian accent, and immediately, she recognized him from pictures on Penny O'Loughlin's web site. He was her coach, Alexsander Valentin. She stared at him, unable to speak.

Alexsander saw Sam and asked, "Is this your kid?"

Sam nodded while he listened to Michael on his phone. "Come on, Espie! Sorry, Mike. Sorry, uh..." Alexsander was already half way across the rink.

Espie was almost off the ice, her eyes glued to Penny as she warmed up by skating around the outside. She was coming toward her, and Espie hoped that maybe, just maybe, she would stop and say hello. She hoped so, because she herself was unable to speak at the moment she was so star-struck. Maybe if Penny spoke first, her tongue would loosen up. But she kept on going, never even giving her a glance.

"Yeah, Mike, I'll get there as soon as I can. Esperanza is being really stubborn getting off the ice today." He pulled the phone away from his face and yelled, "Esperanza! You've got five seconds, and you're grounded. No skating for a week!" Sam didn't like playing that card, but when he did, it always got the desired results.

"Ohhhh, Dad!" She stomped off to get her shoes. "That was so embarrassing!"

"I'll talk to you when I get there, Mike." Sam sighed, put his phone away and approached her. "I don't care if I embarrassed you. You didn't obey me when I told you to do something, and that's what happens when you don't listen."

"I heard you just fine, Dad. I was distracted, that's all."

"That doesn't justify it."

"But Dad, it's her!"

"Who?"

"Her!" She pointed toward the ice.

Sam followed Espie's line of sight to the woman doing complex spins on the ice. Somehow, he knew he should know who she was, but he'd been so preoccupied and busy with work the past few weeks, he had no clue. "Yeah, who's she?"

Esperanza stuck her feet into her sneakers as she rolled her eyes and let out a breath, signaling her impatience. "She's only like the most famous skater in the world, Dad! Penny O'Loughlin! And she's here, in our arena! How cool is that?"

"Great. You ready to go?" He was texting something to Barry, an inspiration about one of their cases suddenly hitting hm.

"Yeah."

"Okay then, I'm gonna drop you off at the house and then I have to hurry up to meet Mike, because now I'm late thanks to you, Missy!"

"I wonder how long Penny is going to be around. Maybe I can get her autograph this week when I come for practice!"

"Maybe." He let her in the car, texted one last message to Mike, and got in. He drove Espie home and pulled into the driveway, letting the engine run. "Now, tell your mom I might be late tonight. We'll probably have another stake out."

"Stake out, shmake out."

He turned in his seat to face her and his eyes bored into hers. "You know, young lady, I'm getting really tired of your attitude lately."

She didn't back down. "How would you know, Dad? You're hardly around...lately." She slammed the door and ran for the back entrance of the house before Sam could give her a quick rebuttal. That was all he had time for. Instead, he shook his head and was thankful he hadn't had to go there, because there was no arguing with his daughter. She was right. But he had no choice. If she wanted to keep up her skating, being supplied in boots and blades that cost over a thousand dollars a pair, costumes and whatnot, they needed him to work. Good thing there was a lot to be done. Once they cleaned up these cases, he could afford to take off for a couple of months. Then he would have plenty of time for his family.

* * *

Michael and Sam sat in the Charger in the dark, with nothing, not even a street lamp, to give them a little light to see by. They came prepared for a night of sitting in the dark doing nothing. Sam crunched on some carrots, while Michael opted for the popcorn. He much preferred eating things he shouldn't while on a stake out, especially in the dark. Then he didn't have to worry about Fiona getting on his case. However, he should have known they were in trouble when she packed a small cooler and a grocery bag full of plastic containers. It was all healthy stuff. At least they had yogurt if he didn't feel like eating like a rabbit.

"Sam, you mind not crunching so loud? I swear they're gonna hear us."

"Boy, I get it at home and I get it from my friends. Maybe I should just call Virgil and see if he'll take me to the Bahamas for awhile just to get away from it all!"

Michael let out a breath. "You too? Fi's been on my case about spending so much time working. I told her that if she didn't keep wanting to buy the kids designer clothes, we could live on a more modest income and we wouldn't have to do so many jobs."

"And she said..."

"Nothing. She just gets this look in her eyes. I don't know what to do." He grabbed a carrot and decided to munch along with Sam. "So what's your problem at home?"

"Money's tight, we've cut just about everything we can, and it's still not enough. I need to work as much as I do to make ends meet." Sam let out a breath. "I'm afraid it's going to come down to cutting the skating lessons, or at least the extra time we rent the ice for one-on-one sessions with her teacher. Coaches don't come cheap."

"I know it seems harsh, Sam, but the kid's gotta understand."

"I don't want her to have to understand. She shouldn't have to suffer because...never mind." He paused. "I've been thinking about trying to pick up some security consulting on the side."

Michael snorted. "Oh, like you have any free time as it is!"

"Yeah, I know. I just don't know how else to make it all work."

His phone bleeped, and he touched the screen as he moved it under the dash so the glow wouldn't give away their position.

_Nighty night. Love you, Daddy._

Sam smiled in the dark.

_Nighty night, punkin. Love you too. See you tomorrow. {{{{{hugs}}}}}_

That was the extent of his conversations with his family these days, through text, with woefully inadequate text hugs and kisses. If they weren't in a sensitive position, he'd take a phone call or make one. It wasn't the same as being there, he knew that. But for now, it was the best he could do. He hoped they understood that he was trying.

* * *

Yvette left Espie's room and made her way to her and Sam's room. Samuel's door was closed and she saw a sliver of light underneath. She knocked first and waited for him to say, "Come on in." Then she opened the door and found him on his bed, stomach down, drawing pictures. At eight years old, he was quite the artist. He obviously inherited the talent from his father, because she couldn't even draw a stick figure. While other kids were still drawing primitive looking people, he was trying to flesh them out. Their proportions were all wrong, but he was still learning.

"Whatcha drawing, Sammy?"

"I'm making a picture for Daddy. See, this is him and Uncle Mike. And I'm going to put Mr. Jack and Mr. Jesse in there somewhere. Maybe behind the car." He shrugged. "I don't know."

Yvette sat on the edge of the bed and marveled at his rendition of the Charger. "That's really good. I bet your Dad's gonna love that picture when he sees it. But right now, I want you to get to bed, mister. It's late."

"But it's Friday night, Mom!"

"So? We have to take your sister to her lesson tomorrow. Tell you what, why don't you bring your drawing along and work on it there?"

Samuel wrinkled his nose. "It's always so cold in there. I don't like it."

"Well, I'm not leaving you here alone, and you know Gramma and Grampa always go walking in the morning, so they won't be around to watch you."

"If Dad comes home, he could watch me." Samuel's eyes lit up. "He wouldn't even have to watch me, just be here."

Yvette hated to dash the hopeful look in her son's eyes. He knew by now that his father's work kept him very busy, and about the only time he took off anymore was on Sunday. Even that wasn't a given, if they had a good lead that would grow cold if they waited until Monday.

"I'll call Daddy in the morning if he isn't here, and I'll find out what his schedule is like. If he can come home, great, you can stay. But if not, you're coming along. No ifs, ands, or buts."

"Okay," Samuel grumbled as he tucked his pencils and eraser into a small zippered pouch. He closed the drawing tablet and placed the drawing instruments on top of it before putting it on his desk.

Yvette stood and reached out for a hug. "You have a good night, and I'll see you tomorrow."

He hugged her and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Night, Mom. Love you."

"Love you too, my little man." She gave him one good lip smack on the cheek that made him cringe and wipe it away. She laughed and retreated from the room.

Now it was time to go to their room. It felt more like her room, and Sam was just a guest these days. If he came home, it was often late and he tried so hard to not disturb her as he slipped under the sheets, she got used to not knowing when she awoke if he'd be there or not. Sometimes he would wake her and they would make love, but most of the time he was too tired and just went to sleep. She would give anything for life to get back to the way it used to be. If it meant the WAR Agency hired more staff, so be it. But Sam insisted that they could handle things themselves, and besides, they needed the money.

Sometimes, Yvette thought she'd rather be living in some shack in the sticks, as long as they had each other and enough to keep themselves from starving to death. Life would be so much simpler then. She fell asleep thinking what that would be like, dreaming about their family being whole and happy again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Because of Sam's erratic schedule, Yvette took Esperanza to all her practices. He was working two cases with Michael, and she thought Sam was bad, burning the candle at both ends, but Michael balanced an additional case with Jack. It was a wonder how he had any time for his family. Then she talked with Fi.

_"Michael is just as bad as Sam, Yvette. He's gone all the time, and when he's here, the kids are asleep. They never see him anymore."_

_"I know what you mean. Sam is the same way."_

_"I swear, I'm just about ready to tie him into a chair and make him sit for a week. I understand he wants to provide for us, but this is ridiculous." She let out an enraged puff of air, releasing the pressure inside her chest. "Thank you, for listening. I couldn't very well let Maddie have it. She's his mom, you know?"_

_Yvette laughed. "I know what you mean. Now that you've vented, I hope you feel better."_

_"I do, but I still might let Michael have it with both barrels when, if, he comes home. But at least I'm downgrading from the 50 cal."_

As she watched Esperanza's practice, Yvette couldn't help but chuckle as she recalled the conversation. Yet it was depressing as well.

_"How did our lives get so crazy? I would give anything to make it stop, so we could go back to the way it used to be."_

_"I know, I've done everything I can to make cuts. Michael complained about the expensive clothes I was buying the kids, so I stopped doing that. And I made do with my own things, but there's only so much I can do, because I could have us in rags, and it still wouldn't be enough. It's not about the money for Michael. The work just drives him."_

_"I honesty don't think Sam would work this hard if we didn't need the money. I've reworked our budget, trying to squeeze what I can out of every penny. If only I could find a way to make everything work on less money. And if worse comes to worst, I can get a part time job. Samuel is in school now, so I could work while they're gone."_

_Fi said, "Yes, but what do you do with them in the summer?"_

_"I'd have to get Maddie to watch them. I know she wouldn't mind."_

_"Aye. Otherwise all your hard earned cash would be going to pay for daycare. It's a crazy cycle, 'vette."_

Yvette let out a breath and rested her chin on her hand. She wasn't sure what to do. No matter what option she chose, someone or something was going to lose out. But something had to be done, because the rising tension in her household was too much to bear. Nobody seemed to be happy, and they were all running around pursuing things that they thought would satisfy them, but it wasn't working.

Sam was gone again that night, and he didn't even bother to call to tell her he wouldn't be coming home. Maybe he was tired of hearing the resistant tone in her voice as she tried to accept his need to work. The least he could have done was give her a goodnight call, but the phone was silent. When she tried calling him, she got the same answer. _"You've reached Sam Axe. Leave a message." _Tired of everything, she cried herself to sleep and dreamed of happier times.

Little did she know that her daughter heard her behind the closed door, and without knocking, Espie slipped into the room, climbed in to her father's side of the bed, and snuggled up against Yvette's back while she slept.

_Maybe Daddy doesn't love her anymore, but I do._

* * *

He sat in a van listening to the bug they'd planted in their target's room. It was very late, and all he'd gotten so far included some bad reruns on the hotel television and the room service cart jittering as it entered the room. The guy sounded like he was sleeping, snoring loudly. It made Sam sleepy, but he fought the urge to lean his head on his hand and close his eyes for just as second. A second would turn into a minute, and a minute into an hour, and who knew what he would miss? There was a muffled knock on the hotel door. Sleepy snuffled and woke. Sam heard the sheets rustling and his footsteps as they crossed to the door. He sat up, hoping that this was the meet they were waiting for.

"Sully sent me." It was a woman's voice.

"How much?"

It soon became apparent to Sam that this wasn't a meet between their suspect and an arms dealer. She was a hooker, and the man was her client. Sam always hated having to listen to the sounds of two people in the throes of passion. It reminded him too much of what he was missing at home. He glanced at his watch. By now Eve would be sleeping and the kids would have been out hours ago. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine the scent of her, and the softness of her skin as he spooned up to her backside. He found himself imagining a whole lot more as he listened to what the bug picked up. Finally, he ripped the headphones off, because he couldn't stand it. His breath was fast and shallow, and it took a real effort to settle down again.

With more of the same a short time later, it was going to be a long night. At two, Michael came and relieved him.

"Anything exciting?"

"Only if you like listening to sex." He handed Michael the headphones. "Enjoy, Mikey!"

"See you tomorrow, Sam."

"Night, Mike."

The streets were nearly deserted as he drove home. It was always a little creepy driving this late at night. It made him wish even more that he didn't have to work like this. He missed his family so much, but they depended upon him to put a roof over their heads, keep them clothed and fed, and give them some of the nicer things in life. The only way to do that was to work. _But this is getting to be too much! How can I make it stop?_

Sam's cell phone rang. "Yeah, Mike."

"Sorry to do this to you, Sam. Our guy is meeting up with his dealer in a half hour at the lighthouse."

"I'm on my way, Mike. See you there." He did a u-turn and headed back toward the coast.

With that case wrapped up, it was one down and two more to go. The next one involved hanging out in Hallandale sipping on Cuban coffee and taking recon photographs. Now and then he'd get up, and he even bought some flowers from a street vendor. This would be a short day, after one more stop, and he might even make it home. That made him feel warm inside.

As he sat at the little cafe, his eyes fixed on a couple with two children, a boy and a girl. They were about Espie and Samuel's age, but their parents were far younger than Yvette and him. It made him think. He wasn't getting any younger, his kids were growing up without him, and if he wasn't careful, he'd turn around some day and find them leaving home for college or their own families. Then what? If he neglected them now, he would miss all those good times and lose the bond he had with them. No, he couldn't let that happen. _Why didn't I see it before? I'm turning into my father! _The old Samuel Axe Sr. left his wife and son for a career in the Navy, and it scarred Sam for life. He vowed he would never be like that; suddenly, he realized that he'd broken that promise. _It's going to end, and soon. I'm not going to wait until they're my age to try to redeem the time, because I won't be as fortunate as my dad was. By then it'll be too late._

* * *

"Mom?"

"Yes, honey?"

"Can I get a bicycle for my birthday?"

Yvette stopped preparing supper and looked at her. "Why? What's wrong with the one you have?"

"It's always breaking, and Dad's never around to fix it. Grampa tries, but he says it's on its last legs. And Grampa said he'd help get one for me."

"Well, I guess we should look into getting you a new one." Yvette smiled at her, keeping secret the fact that she and Sam had already discussed getting her a new bike, despite finances being so tight. She was so proud of her daughter who would be turning twelve in a few weeks. Both the kids were growing up so fast. Her mind flashed to a promise Sam made, that he would be there for the party. It pained her that she had to wonder if he was as good as his word. _Lord, what happened to our family? We're falling apart at the seams, and I don't know how to stop it!_

"Mom, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Espie." She blinked away the tears and caressed her daughter's face. "Just thinking about how big you're getting. You were such a little girl when we got you, so isolated by the language barrier, and I'm sure you had to be scared, too."

"I was. But you and Daddy made me feel safe. Even when I couldn't understand you, I knew I was okay here, that I'd be well taken care of. My mom, she kind of loved me, but when I moved in here, I found out what real love was like." She sighed. "I miss Dad."

"I miss your dad too, honey."

Esperanza fell silent for a few moments. "I was thinking. When I get a new bike, I could ride it to the arena. It's not that far!"

"No. You'd be riding down some busy roads. I'd be afraid you would get hit."

"Aww, Mom! I'm just trying to help here! If you didn't have to drive me, you wouldn't have to spend that money on gas. You and Dad already spend too much on me with the skating."

Yvette turned and stared at her. "What brought all this on? That's a lot to think about for a child your age."

"Yeah, well, I have a friend at school whose parents are getting divorced because they fight all the time about money. You and Dad never fight because he's never around. I don't know which is worse."

Suddenly, Yvette couldn't hold in her emotions any longer. Her daughter's statement hit her in the gut, and she dropped into a kitchen chair, hiding behind her hands as she broke down. Esperanza stood rooted to the floor, eyes wide, feeling guilty for making her cry.

"I'm sorry, Mom." She got down on her knees before her.

She managed to find the air to speak. "It's not your fault."

Espie got up and wrapped her arms around her mother's shoulders. All the while, her mind worked, trying to come up with a way to bring their family back together. Her mind kept going back to her skating, and how it seemed to be causing so many of the problems. Before her dad started spending so much time working, she remembered overhearing them one night as they sat at the kitchen table working the budget.

_"Do you realize that last month we spent almost two thousand dollars on Espie's skating?" Sam rustled a small pile of receipts. "New blades, another costume for the competition, extra ice time, eating out because we were pressed for time getting her to that extra ice time." He let out a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "We're gonna have to find somewhere else to cut if we intend to keep this up. Either that, or I work more. We've been getting a lot of cases lately, so it's not like there wouldn't be opportunity."_

_"Maybe we need to just cut down how much we spend on skating. She doesn't need all these new outfits, Sam! We can start buying bigger sizes, and I'll alter them to fit her now, and as she grows I can take them out."_

_"Her boots are going to need to be replaced again in a few months. She's got her eye on those nice ones in the catalog, but I think we'll have to talk her down to something less expensive." He groaned and ran a hand over his face. "The last thing I want to do is make her give it up! She's good, and she loves it. I don't want to take it away from her."_

_"Neither do I." Yvette sighed. "Okay, see if you can pick up some extra money doing an extra job here and there. We'll survive a month or two."_

That was three months ago, and things were getting worse and worse. Espie was afraid that if something didn't change soon, her friend's parents wouldn't be the only ones splitting up. The solution was to find a way to make some money, lots of money so Dad wouldn't have to work so much. But she was just a kid. If she could use her skating talent...she came up with an idea.

"Mom, can I call Ms. Olga?"

"Why, honey?"

"I have something I need to talk to her about." She gave her a smile that hardly ever failed her when she wanted something.

"Alright. Supper will be ready in a little while."

"Okay. Thanks, Mom!" She ran for the stairs.

"No running in the house, young lady!" She let out a sigh with a small chuckle. If she had a dime for every time she or Sam had to tell her not to run in the house, their financial problems would be solved.

She heard a car door slam and looked out the back window over the sink. Her eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets when she saw Sam approaching the house. _He came home!_ She finished stirring the skillet on the stove, wiped her hands, and met him at the back door.

"Hey, honey, I'm home." He smiled broadly at her as he came inside. In one hand he held a bouquet of flowers. "I got this for you. Sorry if they're a little wilted. I bought them from a street vendor in Hallandale this afternoon and I didn't have any water handy, so..."

She cut him off by grabbing his face in her hands and kissing him, her fierce emotions enhancing the press of her lips on his. Sam tossed the bouquet somewhere in the vicinity of the table, not caring that it landed on someone's empty plate. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, loving the feel of her body eagerly moving into his. She stirred up things he hadn't felt in awhile, and he had the sudden urge to take her upstairs.

The moment was dashed by a throat clearing. "Hi, Dad."

He broke away from Yvette and turned his attention to Esperanza. With a smile, Yvette caressed his cheek and turned back to finishing supper preparations.

"Hi, punkin. How was school today?"

"Okay, as usual." She moved into the room, took two steps, and met him in the middle. They embraced, and he kissed the top of her head.

"It's good to be home," he said softly. She nodded in agreement, and he felt that whatever wall was between them lately had a major crack in it, just because of those simple words.

"We weren't expecting you home tonight," Yvette said. "Sammy, will you set a place for your father?"

Samuel, who just entered the kitchen, nodded and went to the cupboard. He was still a little short and had to use a stool, but he got a plate and glass down. The rest was easy. "Hi, Dad."

"Hey, Sammy." He ruffled the boy's hair as he snuck past to put the things on the table, and it hit him how he'd slowly become a stranger to his family. When this all started, he had dreams of being there for everything, being the kind of dad who took an interest in his kids' interests and not only encouraged them, but he would be there to help when they needed it. Lately, however, he'd been very inaccessible. It gnawed at him at first, but work overwhelmed him and he pushed it to the back of his mind. Now he was reminded of it again, and feeling like an outsider in his own home left him cold and empty inside. He didn't like that sensation, not one bit.

That night, as they lay in bed with their bodies tangled together, Sam spoke softly. "I've really missed this, Eve. I miss you, the kids, and everything." He wrapped his arms tighter around her. "I can't keep doing this. Something's got to give, and I don't want it to be my wife and family."

"But what can we do?"

Hovering over her, he looked down into her eyes and smiled. "The kids are out of school next month. Let's take a trip and get away from this rat race for awhile. Then we can remind ourselves how good it is to be a family and figure out what's preventing us from being together, eliminate stuff that isn't worth our time." He kissed her lips briefly. "Working so much is not the answer. More money is not the answer. I just wish I knew what was."

"Let's not worry about it right now," Eve whispered. "Let's just enjoy tonight. Just love me, Sam. That's what I need right now."

"Me too." He kissed her passionately as his hands moved over her body.

Esperanza was still up, just finishing her homework. She had some extra math to do that night. Her conversation with Ms. Olga turned out to be quite productive. She agreed to let her work in the pro shop in exchange for store credit to pay for the things she needed. At minimum wage it wouldn't be much, but it would help her parents. Then they wouldn't have to strain the budget to keep her in her hobby.

That was another thing that needed to change. She had to get more serious about her skating. As she glanced at the gold medal glinting in the glow from her desk lamp, Espie pondered her future. She needed to not just win medals at the junior local competitions. She had to go regional, national...all the way to the Olympics. And then she could be just like Penny O'Loughlin, making millions of dollars doing commercials and modeling clothes and stuff. _Then Daddy wouldn't have to work so hard paying for my stuff. I could buy him all the hawaiian shirts he wanted!_

Esperanza went to bed that night with big dreams and an even bigger smile on her face. She had it all figured out. The hard part was making it happen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

When she got up the next morning, Esperanza was surprised to see her father sitting at the table. His coffee sat just out of reach of his left elbow, and she noticed it wasn't steaming. A plate with some half eaten toast lay on a stack of papers nearby. His head was bent over a pad of paper and he made notes as he read something on the computer screen. Yet for all his intense concentration, he heard her slippers sliding on the floor and he looked up wearing a warm smile just for her.

"Hey, punkin. Good morning."

"Morning, Dad. I thought you'd be over at Uncle Mike's by now." She pulled a box of cereal out of the cupboard, set it on the table, and went for the milk in the fridge and a bowl and spoon.

"No, I decided to stay home for awhile this morning." He closed up the portfolio, jammed the pen inside, and clipped it to the spine. Then he hit a few keys and put the computer into sleep mode. "I've been thinking about what happened in the car last weekend when I brought you home."

"Yeah, so?" She shouldn't have been so defensive, but Espie couldn't help herself.

He grabbed his coffee, took a sip and made a face. "Oh, that's bad." He smirked. "I guess I've been up for awhile." Sam put the cup down, pushed the computer out of the way, and patted the chair next to him. "Come here, sit next to me. I want to talk to you."

_Uh oh, what did I do?_

She sat obediently, poured her cereal and had the milk carton poised over the bowl as she asked, "What is it, Dad?"

"I wanted to apologize to you for being kind of short with you last Saturday."

"You were busy. I get that."

"When you got out of the car and made that crack about me never being here, you were right." He put his arm around her, and she set the carton down to lean into him. "I'm sorry, honey. I'm going to try to be around more. We'll just have to tighten up things around here, that's all."

"Dad…I have an idea how I can help." She saw she had his full attention, and it made her heart soar inside. She looked straight into his eyes as she said, "I talked to Ms. Olga, and she said I could work in the pro shop two hours after school and four hours after practice on Saturdays. I can work in exchange for store credit to buy what I need."

"Espie, no."

"Yes! And I can ride my bike, if I get a rack to put my gear bag on. It's perfect, Dad! I know it'll take awhile to afford stuff, but I'll manage. I will!"

Sam took her into his arms and held her tightly. He hated himself for making his daughter think she had to work to help support her activities. "Honey, you're too young to work. Ms. Olga should know that."

"You know me, Dad. I'm mature for my age." She smiled, confident that her statement would make all the difference in the world.

"Not according to the law. You can babysit, but working in the pro shop, that's a whole different story."

She folded her arms on the table and tried not to pout. "Grownups ruin everything!"

He restrained himself from laughing. "Yes, they do, but it's for your protection. Trust me, it's babysitting or nothing, and even then I want you to make sure you're prepared for that."

"I have friends who babysit, and they don't make half of what I could make at the shop!"

Sam held her tighter and squeezed her shoulder. "I know, punkin. That's just the way things are."

Espie slipped from Sam's grip and got out of her chair.

"Hey, where're you going?"

"Up to my room. I'm not hungry."

"Espie, come on. I know you mean well, but you don't have to work to help pay for your stuff."

She turned and looked intently into his eyes. "If it means you can be home more, I'd do anything, Dad. Anything."

After she left the room and he heard her feet on the stairs, the silence fell around him. He leaned forward, hands clasped before his face, and he rested his forehead on them. He didn't know what else to do, so he asked for some wisdom and guidance in steering his family through this difficult time. It didn't come to him immediately, but he didn't really expect it to. Until the answer came, he would work with Mike through these cases. When school let out for the summer, they would find a way to take a family vacation, get away somewhere, and just be together. He thought about the island where he and Eve had their honeymoon. _Can't get much more away than that! Wonder if I still have that client's number in my address book?_

* * *

No more was said about Esperanza working, but Sam knew his daughter. She would not let it go. She was too much like himself, even though they didn't share a single gene. When Saturday came, he was determined to have a little talk with Ms. Olga after practice and seek her aid in getting this idea out of Espie's head. A little girl, soon to be twelve years old, was way too young to be working. He wasn't even all that sure about the babysitting. Maybe he was paranoid from seeing too many bad things happen to good people, but every time he thought of her watching over somebody's kids, he envisioned something eventful happening. He trusted her to take good care of them; it was just the other sickos out there who were unpredictable.

Esperanza was shocked when she found Sam in the kitchen that morning having a cup of coffee with Yvette. They sat on one side of the table, their chairs close together, with her leaning into his chest. She detected the blush on their cheeks and realized that she just missed some good making out. Some of her friends might have thought that was gross, but when her parents were like that, she knew it was a good sign. They loved each other like crazy, and being apart so much had been just as bad for them as for her and Samuel. Their love was the glue that kept them all together. For being so young, she'd already figured that out.

"Morning, Mom, Dad." She got her head between them, kissed Sam's cheek and then Yvette's, and squeezed their shoulders with her hands before turning away. "What's up, Dad? I thought you'd be on an all-nighter again."

Sam eyed his daughter and felt a twinge of guilt that she even had to know the terms they batted around as if they were part of every day language.

"Nope. That part of our investigation is done on this case. It's the last one and we've actually got a little break for awhile. Jack is handling a couple that it seemed he had more expertise on, so I have a little vacation, in a sense." He smiled. "It's good timing, too. Your birthday's coming up this week, and then next week is the last day of school. After that..." His smile widened into a grin. "I've got a surprise planned."

Espie whirled from the counter, where she was about to put a bowl of oatmeal into the microwave. "We're going to Disney? Oh Dad, awesome! Can we go see Billy..."

Sam held up a hand to stop her. "No, we're not going to Disney. We're going somewhere quiet, where we can all just be together, and be a family."

"Oh." She finished putting the bowl into the microwave and turned it on. "Is there any ice where we're going?"

"Only in your drink," Sam replied, knowing he'd get a frown from her. "I'm serious, punkin. We all need to get away from everything and rethink what we're doing as a family. What's working, what isn't, and figure out how to fix things."

"Yeah, you're right." The microwave beeped and she took out her steaming bowl with a hot pad. She set it on the table across from them and asked, "Did you tell Mom about my job?"

"We already discussed this. You're not taking that job at the pro shop. It's against the law for a child your age to be working in a place like that."

"Face it, Dad. You guys break the law all the time doing what you do, but nobody makes a big deal out of it. So what's the difference?"

Sam sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "We're not even going to get started on that."

"I think we should."

Sam's gaze met hers, and his eyes turned stormy. She swallowed, suddenly realizing that she'd pushed too hard. "Eat your breakfast, before you're late for practice." He pushed his chair back and took his coffee cup with him. After a brief stop to refill, he left the room and went upstairs.

"Why didn't you tell me you were planning on working at the rink's pro shop?"

Espie shrugged. "I just brought it up to Dad the other day. As you can see, he's not too hip on the idea."

"You got that right, kiddo. And you know he's right. You don't have time to work, anyway. With school, and skating, and the time you need to just be a kid, there's nothing left." Yvette reached over and cupped her hand under Espie's chin, forcing her to look up and meet her more understanding gaze. "Just enjoy this time being your age, Espie. It goes by way too fast."

"Mom, I have to go pack for the rink. Can you take me?"

"No, I have some work to do around here. Your father is taking you today."

She made a face. "Does he have to?"

"Yes. You should be happy he's around. If things get crazy again..." She shook her head, not wanting to think about that. "Go. Get ready."

The ride to the arena was silent. Inside, Sam was still seething over his daughter's stubbornness. He was definitely nipping this in the bud, and before the morning was over, Ms. Olga would rescind her offer of a job, or Sam was pulling Espie from her instruction. It was extreme, but he couldn't have this woman putting ideas in his little girl's head.

While the class was conducted, Sam spent his time watching Espie skate and talking on the phone with Michael, and then Jack. He sat at the end of the bleachers to make the calls away from the other parents, partly out of a need for privacy, and partly to avoid annoying them with his chatter. After hanging up, he checked his texts. Another one from Barry. He finally found the information Sam was looking for on their last case before vacation. He texted back, and he found himself distracted by a voice nearby.

"If you think I'm going to bow out of this deal, you've got another think coming, mister!"

Carefully, Sam turned his head just enough to determine where the source of the voice was. A petite woman with dark brown hair pulled into a tight bun behind her head stood off to the right near the locker rooms. He recognized her from the last time he took Espie to her class. It was that famous skater he'd never heard of, Penelope, no, Penny. Penny O'Loughlin. Her face wore a severe scowl as she conducted an angry conversation with whomever was on the other side of that call. Her head turned and he quickly looked away, but he kept his ear tuned to her side of the conversation.

"You can't threaten me. You try that and you'll be sorry!...I'll be waiting. Bring it on! And you can tell your 'client' that I'll wipe up her blood from the ice with her little tutu by the time I'm done."

_Woah, tough chick!_ But in Sam's line of work, he learned that some people were all bluster and threat, and when it came down to it, they could never follow through on their declarations. He glanced at Penny again. _No, somehow this one means what she said and has every intention of carrying it out if necessary. And Espie looks on her as an idol? She probably projects a different image for her fans. At least, I hope so!_

Penny caught Sam looking at her and she glared at him before turning on her skate and walking away. The sparkles on her leotard picked up the light, making her look so sweet and charming, but Sam got a whole different picture of her from that phone call. One thing he did pick up loud and clear: there was fear in her eyes. Whatever that caller had to say had her scared, but she wasn't about to let anyone know it. She stood near the boards with her coach, and they had an animated conversation. He looked worried for her. She shook her head and patted the skin below her left eye, straightening her makeup. So casual, but even from where he sat he could detect her nervousness.

_Maybe I should approach her, see what's wrong._ Through the rest of the session, his mind warred over whether to talk to her or just let things be. She didn't seem to be the kind of person who would welcome some stranger butting in, especially one whose daughter thought this skater was the next best thing to God.

As the students came off the ice, some of them stopped and swarmed around Penny. She put on a good game face and indulged them a little of her time. She even signed autographs for a few who asked. Esperanza was among them, and Sam couldn't help but smile. She finally got her wish when she managed to say something to Penny, and the skater responded. He could see it was going to make her day, if not her entire week. Espie practically floated on a cloud all the way back to her gear.

Sam met her at the bench. "I see you got to meet Penny. How was it?"

"Oh my gosh, Dad, it was...so...awesome!" Her eyes sparkled like the ocean waves caught in a sunrise as she did a little dance on her blades. "It was so cool!"

"What did you say to her?" He sat on the bench across from Espie and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. Despite his misgivings about the woman, he had to give her credit for being nice to the little girls who wanted to meet her so badly. He smiled at his daughter as she replied.

"I told her she was so pretty, and I wanted to be like her when I grew up."

"And she said?"

"She said she was flattered." Espie grinned. "I know I can do it, too, Dad."

"I know you can, too, sweetie. But right now, you've got to get out of those skates. Your mom wants me to stop at the store before we go home and pick up a few things. Do you want to change first?"

"No, I'm good."

Sam studied her as she removed her skates and prepared them for proper storage. In the beginning she would change with the other girls, but as she became more proficient, she seemed to enjoy parading around in her leotard afterwards. If she went to the store, people looked at her, and she loved it. It made Sam feel uneasy. Maybe she was getting a little too full of herself. He got up and went to the boards to watch Penny as she worked out on the ice. _Is this what I have to look forward to if I let her continue? Will she get an ego the size of Texas and treat her fans all nice, but when she's away from the spotlight, turn into a she-devil?_

Penny fell and hit the hard surface coming out of a double axel. That surprised Sam. Even Espie nailed them every time. The veteran shook it off and went back to work. While he wasn't completely versed in the names of all the moves and tricks, he at least knew enough to see that a professional of her caliber should not be making the mistakes and missteps that she committed. Something was wrong. That phone call got her off her game, and Sam couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

"I'm sorry, you'll all have to leave now."

Sam felt a hand on his arm and he turned to a short man with a skin close haircut and glasses. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ms. O'Loughlin's assistant. Classes are over, and this is Ms. O'Loughlin's training time. No one is allowed to watch."

The last time he was here, there were plenty of people sticking around and no one made a fuss. That got Sam's curiosity up. Either he was trying to help her cover her flubs by getting rid of an audience that could see she was only human, or something else was going on.

"Sir, please!"

"Let's go, Dad. Penny needs her privacy to practice." She tugged on Sam's arm. "Come on, Dad!"

"Okay, honey. Let's go."

They made a quick trip to the store, and Sam worked on auto-pilot as he picked up the things Yvette wanted. The entire time, the face of Penny O'Loughlin haunted him. She was scared of something, and he felt more and more certain that he, Michael, and Jack could help. When they arrived home, Sam handed Espie the grocery bag from behind the back seat.

"What?"

"I want you to take this in to your mom. I have to go back to the arena."

"Dad, if this is about the job..."

"Yeah, I was going to talk to Ms. Olga about that, but no, this about something else. I promise I'll be back this afternoon and we'll do something. Maybe we'll all go to the museum or something. Okay?"

"Okay, Daddy." She grinned, leaned forward, and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "See you later!"

"I'll be here. You can count on it!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

On the way to the rink, Sam called Michael. He wasn't surprised when he picked up on the second ring.

"Yeah, Sam."

"Mike, I think I might have another job for us. Can you meet me at the ice rink?"

He heard a barely perceptible sigh come from Michael. So all the cases were starting to get to him too, and he was looking forward to the break. Either that, or Fi had already nagged his ear off about taking some time for his family. He knew that she and Eve were in cahoots, and Jack's wife Sasha no doubt had something to do with it, too.

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Okay, see you then."

They arrived at the same time and parked near the entrance. The parking lot was empty, except for a black Escalade that was parked in the fire lane. Sam got out and met Michael as they walked toward the entrance. "She must be getting ready to leave."

"Who?"

"Penny O'Loughlin. She's a professional skater, Espie's idol. I overheard part of a conversation this morning, and it didn't sound like a good situation. I think somebody's holding something over her head, threatening her, and she's scared." He paused and checked the door. It was still unlocked. "She was falling in practice when she shouldn't have, Mike. Whatever that person on the phone said had her rattled. That just doesn't happen to a pro, at least not like that."

Michael nodded in understanding. "Do you think she'll even want us to help?"

"We'll never know until we ask."

"Mr. Axe! What are you doing here?"

Sam turned toward Espie's teacher. "Ms. Olga. This is my friend and business associate, Michael Westen. Mike, this is Espie's teacher and coach, Ms. Olga."

Michael nodded. "Sam gave me some information that makes me think that Ms. O'Loughlin may need some assistance with something. We'd really like to speak with her if possible."

"She's still practicing, but she'll be leaving soon."

"Thank you," Michael said as he started walking toward the arena.

"She's requested that she not be disturbed!" Ms. Olga followed them, warning them with a voice full of worry.

"It's okay," Sam assured her. "We won't bother her while she's concentrating on her program."

Without another word, Michael opened the door and he and Sam entered the arena. All the lights around the exterior of the rink were dimmed, leaving the area in darkness, with only the phosphorous lamps over the ice burning brightly. They stayed in the dark and watched Penny skate. Michael knew next to nothing about figure skating, so he didn't see her flaws and missed cues. Beside him, Sam cringed as she landed on her blade.

"She's still distracted, Mike. She wasn't supposed to land on that part of her blade, and she's lucky she didn't fall on her face," he whispered. "I'm telling you, something bad was behind that phone call."

"We'll never know unless she tells us."

"Excuse me," a soft voice behind them said, getting their attention. They turned and Sam recognized him as Penny's PR guy, Walter. "You shouldn't be here."

"We may have some business with Ms. O'Loughlin. We'll just wait until she's finished skating," Michael responded with a smile.

The look on the shorter man's face was telling. He was uneasy about something. Sam studied him and asked, "Is there something that Ms. O'Loughlin needs to be concerned about?"

"No! No, that's ridiculous. Unless you consider the whacked out fans and followers. They're harmless enough and nothing to worry about. We can take care of them."

"Walter, what are these people doing here?" None of them heard Penny close in on them and get off the rink. She looked the two strangers up and down as if she were examining a bug. "Who are you people?"

"My name is Michael Westen, this is my business associate Sam Axe. His daughter Esperanza is a fan of yours." He noted the way she rolled her eyes. _What an ice princess!_ "Anyway, we believe that you may need some assistance, and we'd like to talk to you about it."

"I don't need anybody's help with anything. Walter, get these guys out of here."

Walter grabbed their arms and pulled none too gently. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave."

Penny walked past them and headed for the shower. "Ms. O'Loughlin. I heard your side of a conversation this morning, and I was concerned."

She stopped and turned toward Sam. "I don't need the stage parent of some budding prima donna getting into my business. Good day, Mr. Axe." She hurried toward the locker room with Walter beside her. Another man dressed in black slacks and t-shirt stood behind Sam and Michael with his hands clasped in front of himself in the universal bodyguard sign for 'it's time to go before we break something of yours.'

"That went well," Michael quipped. "It's not like she was going to just come out and tell us she had a problem. It seems that she's got a whole entourage to help her, and we just stepped on a few sets of toes."

"Sorry, Mike. I was hoping that maybe she would..."

He was interrupted by a scream, a very piercing scream that drifted out to the lobby. Michael and Sam looked at each other, turned, grabbed the door handles and ran back inside.

Sam asked, "What happened?"

"I don't know!" Ms Olga responded as she stood looking lost and confused.

They heard another scream, and Walter and two other bodyguards raced for the locker room. Penny came out clutching a towel around herself, her hair and body dripping. In the confusion, Michael and Sam were amazed that they were able to get close to her. This was the worst time for strangers to have such easy access.

"What happened?"

She looked at Michael. "I-I was in the shower, and suddenly, there was someone in the locker room. They came into the shower area."

"Someone. Was it a man, or a woman," Sam asked.

"It was someone short. A woman, maybe? I don't know! They were dressed in black and had a ski mask on. And he or she was carrying a baseball bat."

Sam and Michael glanced at each other and nodded. "And you thought she didn't need help," Sam muttered.

"What are you two, like security specialists or something?" Walter stared at them, his eyes narrowing.

Michael answered him. "You could say that. My friend and I are ex-intelligence agents. We think we can not only protect Ms. O'Loughlin while she's in Miami, but we'll also figure out who is responsible for this. But we need to speak with you first, Ms. O'Laughlin, and get the story. Why would anyone want to harm you?"

She stood with a death grip on the towel as she analyzed whether or not she could trust them. Whatever the case, she appeared to be vulnerable, and not just from her state of undress. Penny glanced at Walter as if she expected him to give her an answer or an assurance that she could expect him to take care of this situation. He remained silent, but he also studied the men. They didn't dress like threatening people, but he was experienced enough to know that looks could be deceiving.

"I'd like to get dressed first. Then meet me at my hotel. Walter will tell you where it is." She turned on her heel and hurried back into the locker room with Ms. Olga.

"You guys are just going to let her go in there with one woman as a guard?" Michael asked, and shook his head. "Come on, Sam. We promise we won't look!" He pulled out his gun, and Sam did the same. Her hired guards stepped forward.

"Don't worry, we've done this kind of thing before." Sam followed him inside, and they located the two entrances to the locker room and kept watch on them while Penny finished making herself presentable. Her bodyguards followed and took up watch over the two doing the job they should have been doing. With so many men watching over her, no one dared to attack Penny.

"You guys get a good look?" Penny asked as she moved toward the exit that led to the lobby.

"Not at all, Ms. O'Loughlin." Sam replied as he fell into step beside her on the left, and Michael flanked her right side. Her own men led and followed her to the SUV, but when they arrived, they elbowed Michael and Sam out of the way and got in. Walter headed for the driver's seat.

"We'll be at the Victor. Be careful how you follow us. We don't want anyone tailing her."

"So, now you think there's something to this?" Michael asked, feeling hopeful that the skater and her security detail would actually consider hiring them.

"Mr. Westen, when you're a championship skater, you're the media darling, making a fortune in product endorsements and commercials, print advertisements, etcetera, someone will come after you. It's the dark side of fame. If you're familiar with security for well-known people, you would know that."

"I'm well aware of the downside of fame, Walter. We'll see you at the Victor." Michael pushed his sunglasses onto his nose. "Sam, we should take our own cars."

"Sounds good, Mike. Se you at the Victor."

On the way to the hotel, he put on his earpiece and called home. "Call Eve."

"Hi honey. We're waiting for you. The kids are excited about going to the museum. Are you coming home to get some lunch first?"

"Uh, no, sweetheart. Mike and I might have a new job."

"Sam!"

"Espie will be happy about this one, sort of." He quickly explained what happened, and that someone tried to attack Penny O'Loughlin.

"That's awful, Sam! But you can be sure when I tell Espie, she'll be adamant about you helping her!"

"If she rejects our offer, I'll be home this afternoon. Otherwise, I'll let you know when I think I'll be home."

"Okay. Be careful."

"You know I am." He hung up and parked in a lot next to the hotel. He met up with Michael and they scanned the area looking for the Escalade. "Up there, Mike. They're in the parking structure." He pointed with his gaze just as Penny and her squad headed for a side entrance to the hotel. He and Michael joined up with them. No one spoke until they were all assembled in Penny's room, a well-appointed suite with an ocean view.

"Now, let's talk." Penny walked into the living area and they followed. "Walter, have your men keep watch outside, please."

Walter's mouth worked as if he were about to protest, but he kept silent. Instead, he nodded and ushered his men to the door. However, he stayed behind and listened while standing in the short hall leading from the entrance to the living area.

Penny moved toward a kitchenette area and pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "Would you gentlemen like anything?"

"Water would be fine, thanks." Sam answered, and she pulled out two more. As she approached, she handed them the bottles and motioned for them to sit.

She may have had an abrasive personality, but at least she was polite. Sam sat in a chair to her right, and Michael sat across from her in another. She remained silent until she opened her water and took a swig. "So, you believe that my life is in danger?"

"When someone enters a ladies' locker room at an ice arena with a baseball bat, yes, I would take that as a definite sign." Michael answered with a small smile.

Sam added. "Wrong sport, it's a dead giveaway." Sam's attempt at humor achieved its desired effect. She braved a small smile and relaxed a little in her chair.

Turning serious, Michael asked, "Do you have an idea of who might want to hurt you?"

"My competition? Even though I no longer participate in the Olympics, Mr. Westen, I am vying for other things. Top spots in ice shows, endorsements, you name it. Whatever I'm doing right now, there is someone who would like to take it from me. I've almost become jaded regarding these threats."

"Until today." Sam set his bottle down onto the glass topped coffee table. "What was the phone call about?"

She let out a deep breath. "That phone call was one of my former competitors, Laura Brady. Well, her agent, actually. She's too chicken to do her own dirty work, so she has him call me. For years, she's felt as if I stole her victory at the 2004 US finals. We were only a few points off from each other, and I went to the Olympics. She was a sub who never got to go. And then I won the gold, which she believes I also stole from her." Penny paused and took a drink. "For the past eight years, she hasn't been able to get over it. And she's jealous of all the opportunities that came my way because of my Olympic success. Now and then, she threatens me."

"Well, either she's decided to get bold and handle things herself, or she had help."

Sam suggested, "Or someone else is using her as a distraction to get to you."

"Have you had any other threatening letters or incidents that could point to someone else? Do you have any upcoming competitions that someone might want you to not make," Michael grilled her.

"No, nothing at all! This is so frustrating! I just want to skate, mind my own business, and..." She shook her head and cut herself off. Then she let out a deep breath and asked, "Can you do anything, Mr. Westen? To be honest with you, my bodyguards aren't exactly top-notch. But they're what my agent hired, so I'm stuck with them." She paused and flipped a loose tendril away from her face. "If you can figure this out, what's your fee?"

"For a job like this, let's see what we're up against first before we talk price."

She nodded. "That much, huh?"

"It really does depend on how many hours we spend hunting down this person," Sam replied. "Generally, a job like this will average five thousand."

"Wow. I guess good help doesn't come cheap, but that's okay. For me, that's just a drop in the bucket. And if I don't do this, and something happens, I'm afraid the three stooges aren't going to be much help." She glanced behind her, knowing full well that Walter heard her. He stood with a blank look on his face as if he'd frozen in place and didn't hear.

But Sam saw his eyes shift to her, and he didn't like what he saw in them. As Michael tried to get more information from her, Sam thought back to where exactly Walter was just before the attack. While the two goons escorted them to the door, he followed Penny toward the locker rooms. She said the potential assailant was short and wore all black: Walter's wardrobe of choice that day matched the description. He was short. Where he could have gotten a baseball bat, that was anybody's guess. If it had been Walter, he must have ditched it somewhere on site.

"Mike, Ms. O'Loughlin, I'll be right back. I need to make a call."

He let himself out onto the balcony and said, "Call Fi."

"Sam? Where's Michael? We were supposed to go with Luke and Mari to the farmers' market today!"

"Sorry, Fi, we've got a job." He quickly explained the situation and said, "We need your help. And we're gonna need Eve and the kids, too."

"What do you want us to do?"

"I need you to go to the arena. Have Eve call Ms. Olga to have her unlock the place. You need to check every inch inside and outside for a baseball bat. A light-colored one, probably ash."

"Like I know my ash from my oak," Fiona scoffed. "We'll look for a baseball bat. I would think any kind would be out of place in an ice arena."

"Exactly! So if you find it, don't let anybody touch it except by the end, and I'm talking way on the hitting end. If it has any prints on it, they'll be all over the handle."

"Seriously, Sam, you think you need to tell me how to handle evidence?" She let out a huff.

"Yeah, well, you've been out of practice for a little while. That's all."

"Just because I turned into Suzy Homemaker..."

"And our business manager," he added in a vain attempt to squelch her Irish temper.

"Yes, that too... Anyway, you think I can't..."

"Fi, just do this, will you, please?"

She sighed heavily. "Okay."

"Great! Thanks, we owe you. I'll call Eve and tell her what's up. She'll call Ms. Olga."

"Fine. I'll get the kids together and we'll meet them at the arena."

"And be careful. I want you both armed."

She let out another huff. "That's a given, Sam!"

When Yvette told the kids that they were going to help with Daddy and Uncle Michael's investigation, they dropped everything they were doing, whooped and shouted with joy.

"Alright, let's go!" Samuel pumped his fist in the air.

"This is so awesome! Wait'll all my friends hear we're on a case and protecting Penny! They'll be envious as all get out!"

"Now kids, this is serious." Yvette unlocked the cabinet holding the gun that Sam left around for emergencies. Then she slipped a box out from the cabinet, pressed the numbers on the keypad, and the box opened. She grabbed two clips, just in case, before locking it again. "Okay, let's go. We're meeting Aunt Fiona, Luke, and Mari at the rink."

It wasn't quite as big a deal when they discovered that their cousins were coming along to help. But for Esperanza it was an opportunity to give back to her heroine, the one who inspired her to greater heights of skating excellence. She couldn't wait to meet her again and hear it from her own lips how grateful she was for Espie's unselfish service.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Sam, we searched everywhere in the arena," Yvette reported after two hours of fruitless inspection of the premises. Even Ms. Olga helped once she knew what they were seeking.

"Did anyone check the dumpsters?"

"Sam, you're not serious. You want us to go dumpster diving? Eeew. There is no way I'm letting our children do that!"

"Just take a peek over the edge and see if you can find it on top. Whoever did this may have just tossed it in there in a hurry without trying to conceal it." He glanced at Michael and Penny, who listened to his side of the conversation. _The shoe's on the other foot now. I wonder what's going through her head!_

"Oh, okay. I have to get up on my tiptoes. I need to put my phone down, hang on." He heard her talking to Samuel. "Will you hold this, Sammy? Keep it open, don't hang up."

"Sure, Mom."

Then he heard banging, a grunt, and the sound of shrieking.

"Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, that was so disgusting! Fiona! Fiona! Do you have any baby wipes? I swear, I am not touching anything until I get this off my hands!"

"Dad, mom's freaking out 'cause she got a little garbage slime on her hands."

"I could hear. Tell her she gets a medal for doing that, will ya, Sammy?" He grinned. "Let me know when she's able to get back on the phone again."

"Okay."

He heard voices in the background, and one of them sounded like Esperanza. The other was Lucas. "We found it! We found it, Mom! Luke, don't go in there! You're gonna get wet!"

"What on earth is happening?" There was no answer. "Eve? What's going on?"

His audience's eyes grew wide. Penny asked, "Are all your investigations this chaotic, Mr. Westen?"

"No. Please, call me Michael."

"I'm sorry, I prefer to keep things more professional, Mr. Westen." She crossed her legs as she sat stiffly in the chair. "I can't believe you let children help you in your investigation."

"Ms. O'Loughlin, one advantage that kids have is that they're curious. They'll get into everything if you let them. Adults have pre-conceived notions about things. So if someone wants to conceal something, it's harder to hide it from a kid, because they'll leave out nothing in their search."

"Basically, they haven't put themselves into the box yet. They don't have boundaries like we do. Is that what you're saying?"

"Exactly."

A slight smile crossed her features. "I see. Did it work?"

"I think so. Sounds like there's a lot of excitement on that line right now." Michael smiled.

Meanwhile, Sam was getting nowhere with determining what was happening on the other end of the phone. "Samuel...Eve..." He listened to things settling down, and then he heard his wife's voice.

"Sam, I'm back! Thanks to Fiona and the baby wipes, I'm decontaminated. Please, please, please! Don't ever make me do something like that again!"

"I'll make note of that honey. So what was all the chaos for?"

"The baseball bat! Lucas and Espie found it in a culvert running behind the building. There was some nasty water in it, and Lucas went right in to pluck it out. Gave Fi a fright, I tell you! Now they're going home to get him cleaned up, and I've got the bat. Unfortunately it's all wet, so I don't know if you'll be able to get prints off of it."

"We can try. Hey, can you take some pics of where you found it?"

"Sure can! Then what do you want me to do with it?"

"Take it back to the loft and we'll check it out there."

"Ohhh, I don't think Fiona will like that! How about I take it over to the station and have Paxson's lab check it out?"

"Did I ever tell you one of the reasons I married you was because you're so smart?" He praised her with a grin. "Take the bat over there and have her give us a call if anything comes up."

"Will do. I just have to figure out how to transport this thing without getting the car dirty or ruining evidence." She gasped. "Oh wait, I have an idea! Plastic wrap! Ms. Olga, we need plastic wrap from the snack shop! Gotta run, Sam. We'll see you later!"

"See you soon, babe." He hung up the phone and returned to Michael and Penny, an amused expression on his face. "Getting our families involved was a good idea. They found the bat, and Eve is taking it over to Paxson. She'll have her call us if anything turns up on it."

"I'd like to go back out there and see where they found it," Michael said as he stood. "So, Ms. O'Loughlin. Do we have a deal to work for you?"

"Oh yes! I have to admit, I thought you two were crazy at first, but getting your kids involved to hunt for that bat, that was...unorthodox...but it got the job done. And probably faster than the police would have done it." She turned to Sam and added, "I just hope you don't arm them."

"No, our kids are well-versed in gun safety, and they're never allowed to touch them." Sam answered as Michael turned for the door.

Penny could see that Westen was eager to look for more clues. She liked that he was all business. He seemed to leave the personal side to his partner.

"We'll keep in touch." Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. "If you think of anything else that might help our investigation, please give either me, Mike, or our other associate Jack a call. All our numbers are on the card."

"I will. Thank you. I really hope you can figure out who is doing this."

"We will." He left with Michael and eyed the guards as they flanked the door. Once they were out of earshot, he said, "Mikey, that Wally guy seems fishy to me."

"I agree. And he fits the description. I'm hoping when we go out there, we'll find a ski mask somewhere near where they found the bat. And if Walter's responsible, some evidence to link him to the attempted attack."

"If we get some usable DNA off the ski mask, we'll have to convince Wally that it's in his best interests to give up a sample."

"I'll let you handle that, Sam. You're so good with people." He grinned.

* * *

The sun was beginning to make its late afternoon descent as Michael and Sam parked behind the arena. They went in two different directions, fanning out from the dumpster. Sam called Yvette to get the location where the bat was found, and she sent him a photo that she took with her phone.

"Okay, I found where the bat was picked up. There's a lot of scrub brush beyond that culvert. The suspect could have tossed it back there."

"I just hope you don't have to go into the dumpster, Sam. One of them is for recyclables. That wasn't so bad, but the other... Let's just say if you dive in, I'm hosing you off before you set one foot in this house!"

He chuckled. "I'll do my best to stay garbage free. I'm checking out this area behind the culvert first." As he spoke to her, he took a leap over the stagnant, dark brown water and made it safely to the other side. The grass was tall and anything could be in it, including snakes. He found a fallen tree branch and used it to probe the gaps. "Uh huh, I think I found something."

"Careful, Sam!"

"Of course, honey." He used the branch to pick up the dark object. "Yep, it's a ski mask. Someone tried to hide it by shoving it under some dry grass, so whoever did this must have escaped through this brush and swampy area back here." He took a step and heard a distinctive rattle. "Uh oh."

"Uh oh? What's uh oh?"

Instinctively, Sam turned and took a step, and the second step he used to push off from a fallen thick branch, and he leaped over the culvert again.

"Sam!" Michael came running and caught him by the arms to keep him from tumbling to the ground. "Jeez, you almost got bit back there! What were you doing?"

"Sam, are you okay?"

He was a little out of breath, but fine. He glanced down at his pant legs and didn't find any snakes hanging onto them. "I'm good, Eve. Just had a hello from a rattlesnake, and somehow I managed to escape before it struck out."

"Struck out? Oh Sam, how could you?"

"I didn't mean it that way! Sheesh, women!" He shook his head. She was in a weird mood, but then, he supposed that having your husband ask you to sift through garbage was enough to make any woman act strange. "I'll talk to you later, Eve. I've got another piece of evidence, and we need to take care of this right away. Maybe it'll help us find our assailant."

Michael's phone rang. "Hello."

"Hey Mike, it's Jack. I just got a call from some chick named Penny. She said we were working for her, but that was news to me. I just went along with it. So what's up, are we or aren't we?"

"We are. She's a figure skater with a stalker. Whoever it is threatened her with a bat late this morning. Eve, Fi, and the kids found the bat, and Sam just found the ski mask."

"I think I better meet you guys and get the scoop on all this."

"Agreed. Meet us at the station. We're taking this latest piece of the puzzle over to Paxson."

"I'll be there."

"We won't have much luck with prints on the ski mask, but DNA, that we can do." Paxson said as she surveyed the two pieces of evidence lying on her desk. "I've got someone from the crime lab on the way to pick these things up, and we'll get back to you on what we find." She glanced up at Michael. "You wouldn't by any chance want to let the police take over this investigation, would you? I know you guys have been pretty busy lately."

"No, I think she's starting to trust us," Michael answered. "This woman is some skating superstar, and she's worried that getting the police involved would mean publicity, bad publicity. In this case, I think she's right. The less that gets out, the better. This person will think they're getting away with something and get sloppy. And then we'll catch him, or her."

"So you have a list of suspects?"

Michael grinned. He knew she was fishing. "We have enough. Thanks for your help, Paxson." To Sam and Jack he said, "We need to have a strategy session and figure out what to do next."

She knew when Michael was giving her the brush off. "You boys behave out there."

"Don't worry. We'll keep out of your hair," Jack responded as they left her office.

As they walked to their cars, Michael asked, "Sam, think you can talk to Espie and find out everything she knows on Ms. O'Loughlin? I want every detail, every competition she's been in, her rivals, any information on the contracts she's worked under. Everything."

Sam grinned. "You better hang onto your seat, Mike, because that kid knows a lot about Penny O'Loughlin. And what she doesn't know, I'll find out."

"Great. Jack, you and I are going back to the hotel to keep an eye on our client and her security detail. Get to know them a little and see if any of them has an axe to grind."

"So I cover the external factors and you guys get the internal. I don't know who has the cushier job," Sam smirked. "See you guys later."

* * *

Sam arrived at home and parked on the street because Samuel was with his grandpa trying to shoot baskets into the new hoop that Samuel Sr. installed that very day. He got out of the car and looked up at it.

"Dad, what's this?"

"Oh, Sammy wanted to learn how to play basketball, so I went and got him a net and backboard, and I just finished putting it up. Pretty nice, huh?"

"You didn't think to ask first?"

"Aw Son, I wanted it to be a surprise for Sammy! You've been kind of hard to reach lately." He frowned and squinted into the lowering sun. "I'm sorry. I should have asked. I just got all excited about having a common interest to share with him, that's all."

"Common interest? Dad, I never knew you liked basketball!"

Samuel laughed and grinned. "You learn something new about your old man all the time, huh? Yeah, I played in high school. I wasn't too bad either, if I say so myself. But I never pursued it in college. Your grandpa wanted me to get serious about my life." His grin widened. "So I went to Annapolis and joined the Navy. He wasn't thrilled, but I think it was the lesser of two evils in his mind."

Father and son shared a laugh. "Well, next time, let me know, okay Dad? Hey, Sammy, what do you think of this get up that Grandpa got for you?"

"I love it!" Samuel jumped and tried to get the ball from his grandfather.

Sam held out his hands, and Samuel Sr. passed it to him.

"Aw Dad, come on! Let me have it!"

Sam dribbled the ball just out of his son's reach, turned toward the far end of the driveway, set the ball up and let it soar toward the basket. It hit the backboard, bounced, and dropped through the net.

"Nice shot, Dad!"

"Eh, football was more my sport, but I can still sink one in a pinch."

Sammy retrieved the ball and did his best to dribble and move at the same time. He turned and heaved the ball upwards. Sam noted that he was starting to show a tendency toward left handedness with some things, and shooting baskets was one of them. He was close, but it missed. Not one to give up easily, Sammy ran to catch the ball and tried again.

"Well, I'd love to hang out and play with you guys, but I've got to talk to Espie. You know where she is?"

"I think she's over at Zoe's house."

"Okay. I'll check with your mom to be sure." He grabbed Sammy from behind with one arm and gave him a hug as he said, "Nice detective work today! You guys all did a great job!"

"Are you going to find the bad guy?"

"We're working on it. That's why I need to talk to your sister, and pick her brain on this lady we're trying to help."

"Cool!"

He entered the house and took in the heady scent of cinnamon. "Mmmm, somebody's baking. Hey, Eve?" He called out to her and he heard her footsteps as she came out of the laundry room.

"Hi! You made it home. Too late for going to the museum now. Espie's at Zoe's and well, I'm sure you saw Sammy having a ball with your dad."

"Okay, now who's being punny?" He reached for her waist and kissed her lips with enough heat to cause her to drop the laundry basket on the floor and wrap her arms around his neck as she reciprocated. "Thanks for helping us today."

"It was dirty work, but somebody had to do it."

"Is everybody all cleaned up now?" He kissed her again and she started to melt in his embrace.

"Mmmhmmm."

When they parted, he studied her, debating. The house was quiet, the kids all occupied...but he had work to do. That thought put out the fire in his eyes. She looked disappointed, but she understood. Caressing his neck, she moved her hand to smooth the shirt over his chest.

"Well, I better let you go. It looks like you're hot on the trail of your suspect."

"Actually, no, not yet. We're working on it." He kissed her again. "I need to talk to Espie about Penny, and find out everything she knows." He dipped his head and she met his lips with her own.

She moaned, and it was his undoing. Without breaking contact, he reached down, but as he lifted her up into his arms, she tore herself away. "Sam, I've got ten minutes before that cake comes out of the oven."

He grinned. "That's more than enough time." He laughed and carried her upstairs, thankful for the small distraction. When he was with Yvette, he felt recharged and ready to pick up where he left off. Taking a few stolen minutes only sweetened things.

Esperanza arrived home, slightly out of breath. She came in through the front door and smelled her mother's cinnamon cake. She closed her eyes and took it in with one big breath. But something smelled a little off, and he heard the timer beeping, so she went into the kitchen to investigate. She noted the laundry basket tipped on its side, the contents all over the floor. Shaking her head in bemusement, she grabbed a hot pad and pulled the two layer pans out of the oven and checked them. They hadn't burned yet, so she let out a grateful sigh of relief as she turned off the oven.

After putting the laundry in the basket, she looked out the back door and saw Samuel playing with Grandpa. Her head swiveled to the yard, but her mother wasn't anywhere she could see. Then she saw her father's car parked on the street, and she began to wonder in earnest what was happening. She grabbed the wash basket and hurried upstairs, noting when she reached the top that her parents' bedroom door was closed. It was then that she could truly relax. She should have known when she saw his car that they would be together.

Humming a little tune, she went to her room to fold the laundry on the bed. She finished it and dropped Samuel's off in his room, leaving it on the bed, and her parents' things she placed in the basket and left near their door. She couldn't help but put her ear to the wood panel. The things she heard when she did that puzzled her, but she never had the nerve to ask her mother about it later. Maybe some day, she would discover the mystery of what they did. She'd heard classmates talk about it and what they saw on the shows on television, but her family never watched stuff like that, so she was kind of in the dark. It bothered her at times that she felt ignorant in some of the ways of the world. _I'll have to talk to Mom about this. Soon._

Sam and Yvette's late afternoon tryst took longer than they planned, and they didn't realize how much time actually passed until, as Yvette lay in his arms, she glanced over him at the clock. Her head shot up off his shoulder. "Sam! It's almost five! The cake! And supper!"

"Oh, don't worry about supper." He pulled her back down and kissed her. When he broke contact, he said, "We'll go out, get a pizza or something. As for the cake...well, I would think we would have heard the smoke alarm go off by now, right?" He laughed nervously.

The spell was completely broken, and Yvette slipped off the bed. He lay back and watched her scramble around the room for her clothes, picking up each piece and putting it back on. She stopped with one leg in her shorts. "Well? Are you going to get up?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't even go there, buddy! You know what I meant!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm getting up." He sat on the edge of the bed and picked up his things that he'd discarded beside it.

They finished dressing in silence and heard the back screen door slam downstairs. "Oh great, the kids are probably here. That laundry, I left it on the floor! What on earth are they going to think?" She quickly ran a brush through her long hair, twisted it up, and held it in place with a hair clip.

"I don't think Sammy will know what to make of it. Espie...she's smart enough to put two and two together." He stood, buttoned the last buttons on his shirt, and took her into his arms. "Honey, I think it's time to have 'the talk' with her."

"She's only eleven, Sam!"

"Twelve in two days. And you can bet there are kids at school younger than her who know about sex already. I mean, look at the stuff on the news! They're practically babies having babies!"

"Espie would never..."

"No, I don't think she would. She's too focused on figure skating to think about boys that way." He held her close. "But it sure wouldn't hurt to talk to her about it, so she knows what she's up against if she ever gets pressured. You know?"

"Yes, I do." She remembered how, when her parents served as virtual slaves under the Roches, how their son tried to have his way with her. No one told her about the dangers, but there was something about him and the way he flirted, that she knew it was wrong. When her mother finally told her, she tried her best to stay far far away from Freddie. He was bad news. "I don't want her to have to deal with a Frederick Roche and not be properly equipped."

"Well, she does know karate, remember? I pity any boy who tries to mess with her." He opened the bedroom door.

"Wait, Sam!" She hissed, "Straighten the bed, for crying out loud!" She hurried to one side and pulled on the quilt, and he took the other side. Together, they had it smoothed out in seconds.

"Looks like we have a little laundry genie," Sam remarked as he spied the basket next to the door.

"Espie." Yvette smiled at their daughter as she stepped out of her room.

She smiled at them, crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame. "Dad, you almost made Mom burn the cake! That would not have been cool. You know that's my birthday cake!"

"Sorry, punkin. We got a little, um, distracted."

"It's okay, I took care of it before it got too dried out. I put the layers in the freezer."

"Thanks, honey! I'll get them out on Monday and frost them."

"I also put that chicken in the oven, and Sammy's peeling potatoes, so supper is started."

Espie couldn't have shocked Sam more if she'd punched him in the gut. His little girl was growing up, and she was taking life by the horns, showing a real proactive attitude that would take her far. It almost made him regret squelching her idea to work at the rink. Which reminded him that he never talked with Ms. Olga about that. He would have to call her and set her straight before Monday, because no doubt she expected Espie to be there after school to work. His daughter was becoming more mature, but she wasn't ready yet. She still had a lot of growing up to do.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

After supper, Sam stopped Espie as she was about to go outside. "Where're you going, punkin?"

"I was gonna ride my bike over to Zoe's and then maybe go to the park, or stay at Zoe's until it starts getting dark. Mom knows."

"Oh." He thought about letting her go, but he needed to get that intel on Penny.

She noticed his expression, and she knew he was thinking about something. Maybe he wanted to spend time with her. They hadn't done that for awhile, and she missed it. She'd gotten used to filling her free moments with other things in place of their father-daughter time, but she would drop everything in a heartbeat if he only asked. Judging by the look on his face, she knew he wanted to, yet he probably thought she would rather spend time with her best friend.

"I don't have to go to Zoe's. She's usually in bed early on Saturday nights anyway, because they go to early service." She gave him a sly smile.

He smiled back. "Great! How about you and I take a walk? There's something I want to talk to you about, and, well, I need some information that I know you can give me."

Her brows furrowed. _ What on earth could a kid have that was so valuable?_

"I want to ask you some questions about Penny. I know you're like her biggest fan, so I figure you know everything about her, practically."

"Oh yeah, I do!" Her face lit up. "What do you wanna know, Dad?"

"Come on, let's walk." He led her toward the back door. "Eve, Espie and I are going for a walk. We'll be back in a couple hours or so. Depends upon how much information I can get out of her."

Espie giggled. "Daddy, you make it sound like an interrogation."

"It might be. I might make you dig deep and have to think about some of this stuff." He put an arm around her and led her out the door. "Later!"

"Mom, I wanna go too!"

"No, Sammy. You and I are staying here. How about you teach me how to play basketball?"

"Yeah! I'll show you!"

Sam grinned and gave his wife a kiss across the space between them. He loved how she had a knack for appeasing their kids without giving in to their indulgences. They avoided a lot of tantrums that way. He let Espie lead the way outside, and they fell into step on the sidewalk, heading east. He walked with his arm around her shoulders, gauging whether or not she felt comfortable with that. She was at that age, Maddie warned him recently, where she might shrug off his attentions and even be embarrassed by him and Yvette. He never remembered feeling that way as a kid, but then, it was just his mom and him and they relied on each other so much, alienating her just wasn't something he would consider. His dad, well, he'd separated himself from them a long time previously, so he wasn't even on his radar.

He thought about the past few years and how his father came back into his life. Sam really wanted to keep hating him, but it took too much energy, and once he learned to understand him, Sam discovered that a lot of his issues with life and women had to do with the sense of abandonment he felt as a child. Their truce and subsequent rebuilding their broken relationship changed both of them for the better. He thanked God that everything worked out the way it did.

"So, Dad, what do you want to know about Penny?"

"Where's she from? Where's her hometown?"

"Miami." She glanced up at him. "Her family lives here, well, her mom anyway. Her parents got divorced when she was real little, so she never got to know her dad. But he's the one who paid for her lessons and coaches and stuff until she made it to the Olympics and won. And then she was able to pay for everything herself because she got all those really cool advertising deals."

"We met her at her hotel. I wonder why she isn't staying with her mom."

"They don't get along that well. The rumor is that her mom's upset because of all that support she got from her dad. She couldn't afford to give her all the lessons, skates, and stuff. So they had a big fight and she hasn't spoken to her in a long time." Espie shrugged out of his loose grip and instead took his hand. "It's so sad, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

"I'm really thankful that I have both you and Mom." She looked up at him with intensity in her eyes that he'd never seen there before, and she said, "When you were spending so much time working, I was afraid that we were gonna wind up splitting up everything."

"Like getting divorced?"

"Yeah." She spoke softly, afraid to acknowledge her fears.

"Oh punkin, I'm sorry! Your Mom and I love each other very much! You'd know if we were heading for a split."

"How would I know that when you weren't around so much like you used to be? I thought maybe you didn't want to be with us anymore."

He looked down at her with filmy eyes. "And I'm very sorry for that. But I learned my lesson before I really messed things up. I'm going to make time for my family, because you're more important than anything in the world."

She looked at him with worried eyes. "But you need to work to pay for my skating stuff."

"Maybe we both need to make some sacrifices there, honey. But hey, let's talk about that later. After all, I had a reason for getting you out here, and it's not just to go to the yogurt shop and buy you a double chocolate chip cone."

Espie sucked in her breath. "Daddy!"

"Espie! What?" He teased her and she grinned at him, an expression he mirrored.

She put her arm around his waist and hugged him. "You don't have to bribe me, you know. I'll tell you whatever you want to know about Penny."

"It's not a bribe. It's payment for all your help." He squeezed her shoulder.

They arrived at the yogurt shop and she saw some of her friends on the patio. While still out of their sight, she pulled away from him to walk by his side, but they no longer touched. And so it began. At least he was warned.

Sam was glad he brought along a notebook, because between Espie and her skating friends, he gleaned enough information on Penny to write her biography. How much of it was true remained to be seen. After his kids had gone to bed, he spent time on the computer checking out respected sources that could either confirm or deny what the girls told him. He visited Penny's web site. The friendly, smiling face on the first page was nothing like the reception he and Michael received when they met her. Maybe it was her present circumstances weighing her down. If that was the case, he soon discovered that a stalker wasn't her only problem.

"Call Mike."

When he got Michael on the phone, he added Jack to the conference call. "Okay, this is short, but can you guys meet me at Carlito's tomorrow for breakfast? I've got a few gems on our client. I think you're going to want to hear this before you go see her. You're still watching her, right?"

Michael replied. "Yes, Sam. Only we have Jesse involved now, and he's taking the night shift."

"Great. How's eight sound?"

"Works for me," Jack replied.

"Me too. See you there, Sam."

He hung up and glanced at the clock. It was just after eleven. Sam emerged from his office and went downstairs to make sure everything was locked for the night. It was completely dark in the house except for his office and a sliver of light that spilled out from their bedroom. He darkened the office on his way past, opened the bedroom door carefully, not knowing if Yvette would be awake or asleep. Sometimes she sat up reading when he burned the midnight oil, and she nodded off before he made it to bed.

"Hey, you kind of look like my husband, but I don't normally see him at this time of night." She teased.

"Well you do tonight, baby. I've seen enough stuff on Penny-O to last me for quite some time."

"Penny-O?" She laughed.

As he spoke, Sam undressed, watching her watching him with a growing smile. "Yeah, apparently that's what some of the tabloids have dubbed her. She lives a pretty wild lifestyle despite having a rigorous training schedule. I think I know now why she's living at the Victor. She's in the middle of the party." He shook his head as he stripped off the last piece of clothing, his voice taking on a softer, passion filled tone. "Never mind. I'm done thinking about her. I mean, why should I when I...have...you." As he spoke the last words, he crawled from the foot of the bed to her side and nibbled at her ear.

"Sam!" She giggled and ducked away, stuck the marker back into her book, and set it on the night stand. "I see it was worth staying up late tonight."

"Yeah. Except we're gonna have to hit late service tomorrow. I have to meet Mike and Jack at Carlito's at eight, so it's bedtime for Sammy."

She kissed him and said, "But not without a kiss, or two."

"Oh, you tease, you!" He reached for the light, turned it out, and spent some more quality time with her. He knew he would pay for it the next day, but he didn't care.

* * *

Sam was on his second cup of coffee before even getting out of the driveway. But every moment of no sleep was worth it, and so he filled himself up with some high-octane java and prepared to meet his partners at Carlito's. On the seat beside him lay his notebook and laptop. He parked and found he was the first to arrive, so he ordered a round of coffee to get things started.

"Mornin', Sam."

"Morning, Mike. Jack! Looks like you had a rough night."

"Micah's teething. Jeez, it wasn't this bad with Ellie." Jack took a long swig of his coffee. "Ah, just what I needed, nice and strong. Thanks, Axeman!"

"Yeah, you and me both, Jack. Except I wasn't kept awake by a screaming baby." He gave Jack a leer and a wink, the kind of look he would have given him back in the old days when he found himself a lady friend for the night. Only this time, Jack knew this wasn't just a one night fling.

"Lucky you. So, what'd you want us to know about?"

"I ran off a couple copies for you guys of Penny's career, if you can call it that, up to this point. All the tournaments she's been in and won, who her main competitors have been over the years. This Laura Brady comes up a lot. Apparently, they've been rivals for a long time, since they were part of the same skating club here in Miami. So our suspect is a local, and I was able to dig up an address on her. She still lives here, with a boyfriend, in Coral Gables. She's not exactly one foot in the poorhouse, but she's not exactly raking in the dough, either. She does ice shows, mostly, for a living."

"Is she in town at the moment," Michael asked.

"That I haven't found out yet. But this isn't the really good stuff." He went to the back page of the information he gave them. "Check this out. In the past six months, Penny's entered three competitions. One of them was a national title for professionals. She lost...to Laura Brady. Two out of the three."

Jack's left eyebrow twitched. "Ouch."

"Yeah. She's been off her game for almost a year, and I checked a lot of sources that are reliable in the skating world. I tried correlating that with information from the tabloids, and if any of them can be believed, she's got some sort of addiction to pain killers. Somehow, I doubt that. She looked too together yesterday for that. Something else is going on, and it's interfering in her performance and ability to compete."

"Maybe she's just past her prime," Jack suggested. "And if she's slipping, her contracts will probably disappear when they expire. She gets scared, and desperate, and gets her guy Wally to help her create a fake assailant. That would put her back in the limelight, at least for awhile until she can get her act together."

"Yes. Then she'd look like an even bigger star when she makes her come back despite the stress of being stalked and nearly killed by some mysterious stranger." Michael finished for Jack.

"That's what I was thinking, too. Except I'm not so sure the threat isn't real."

"What are you talking about," Michael asked, tilting his head and giving Sam his full attention.

"I went to her web site, and she's got a forum there where she supposedly answers some of the fans' questions and stuff. She has a twitter account too, and I checked that out. Mostly drivel from fans that occasionally she answers. But I think she's probably got someone who does it for her. The answers were just too sweet, you know? After meeting her in person, I don't think she could pull that off. Especially if she's out playing at night, instead of sleeping or prepping herself to train the next day."

"So you think someone answers all these questions on the forum, too?"

"Probably. They have the same tone to them, but every once in awhile, you get one like this." He tapped the page where he'd transcribed some of the comments on the forum. "Pretty smart alecky, not like the other ones. And there's like three pages worth of back and forth with this person using IceBaby as a screen name."

"Do you think it might be Laura Brady, jabbing back at her on her forum," Jack asked as he skimmed the responses between IceBaby and Penny. "They get pretty nasty for someone trying to project a nice image on her web site." He glanced at the printout of the startup page, just to remind himself who was supposed to be the subject of this site.

"These comments definitely don't match what she's trying to project," Michael agreed.

"So, what do you think? What we've got is all speculation right now."

"Yeah, Sam. Look into this more, and as Jack and I get into her confidence, maybe we can get something out of her."

"Okay. I'll see if I can figure out if this threat is legit, and if not, what's up with this IceBaby person." He counted out some bills and set them next to the check. "But for the rest of the day, unless something really shocking comes up, I've got to take some time for the family." He smiled. "I've had an enlightening experience in that department, and I know we've been really busy, but I can't devote all my time to the business. If we have to, let's find some more ex-ops who want to work and hire them."

"It's less money for us," Jack said with a shrug. "But hey, I'm not the one hurting for cash."

"I'm working on that, Jack. I've realized that my family is worth a lot more than money, and we'll just have to work harder to find cuts."

"Good for you, Sam. I've discovered the same thing with Fi. She's ticked that I don't spend enough time with her and the kids. After we get this job done, we're going away for a week."

"Us too," Sam chimed in and turned toward Jack. "Any plans?"

"Nope. I'm just staying home. Maybe we'll go up north and visit Sash's relatives. I don't know. I just know it's going to be nice to have a break."

Michael nodded and said, "When we get back, let's go about hiring at least two more guys, or women. We've got four new cases on the docket then, and we're going to need some serious help."

After they agreed on their plans, and that for the present case Michael and Jack would continue to watch over Penny during the day, Sam went home. He spent a little time checking some more information until it was time for the family to leave for church. He really wanted to stay home, because he was in the middle of some juicy stuff, but he knew how important it was for his family to be there. So he went, and afterwards changed his mind and knocked off for the rest of the day. The information would still be there the next day.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Monday morning, Esperanza woke up early. She was excited because today was her birthday. She wished she didn't have to go to school; she wanted to have her party now. It was more of an intimate family get together, supper with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Mike and Aunt Fi, and their cousins Lucas and Marielle. It would be her favorite meal, pizza, but the most important part was the cake. The layers were sitting on the counter defrosting when she left for school. As she and Samuel went out the back door, she gazed at them with longing in her eyes.

Samuel got on his bike and said, "I'll race you, Espie, and maybe I'll let you win, 'cause it's your birthday." He giggled.

"Oh yeah, right. I beat you almost every time you little twerp." She threaded her arms through the backpack straps, tightened her bike helmet, and straddled her old bike. "You'll be eating my dust, same as usual." She got up on the seat and started peddling as Samuel turned his bike and rode into the street. She got to the corner and heard a crack, and she looked down to see that the chain had broken.

"Samuel!" He was already half way down the block. Muttering under her breath, she stopped with her foot up on the curb, unsure what to do. _There's only one thing I can do, take this hunk of junk home and walk. Or get Mom to give me a ride._

Her father had left early, giving her a birthday hug and kiss on the way out while she ate breakfast. She had no idea where he was going. Probably working on the case, which meant he wasn't around to take her to school. Espie pushed the bike against the garage wall and hurried into the house.

"Mom! Mom!"

"What is it, Espie?" She came from the front of the house with her hands full of cleaning supplies. "Did something happen to your bike?"

"Yeah. The chain broke!"

"Oh dear, I guess I'll have to take you. Hang on..." She was interrupted by the honking of a horn. Yvette set the supplies on the table and glanced out the window, smiling at what she saw. With a little laugh, she said, "I believe your ride to school is here."

"What?"

"Come on." She led Esperanza outside, wearing a grin as she put her arm around her to escort her daughter across the yard.

At the curb sat a long black limousine. Espie's eyes bugged and her jaw dropped. "Mom, what's this about?"

Yvette laughed. "Your dad, Uncle Mike and Uncle Nate were in on this together. Your Uncle Mike sabotaged your bike so you'd have to come home, and your Uncle Nate let your dad borrow one of the cars from his fleet." As she spoke, she approached the car with Esperanza. Sam got out of the driver's seat, dressed in the whole limo driver uniform, and opened the door for her. Inside, she found a pack of giggling girls, all friends of hers from school.

"Hi, Espie! Isn't this awesome!" The girls greeted her with their voices overlapping in their excitement.

"Daddy!" She screamed. Not caring what her friends thought, she leaped into his arms and hugged and kissed him. "Thank you, Dad! This is so sweet!"

"You're welcome, honey. But now you've got to get in, because we're running a little late, and I have to get you all to school on time. Come on, let's go!" He released her and she got in.

Sam closed the door behind her, winked at Yvette, and got into the driver's seat. It wasn't a very long trip to school, but the short ride was a luxury Espie and her friends had never experienced before. Their giggling and chatter would have grated on him, except he put up the privacy barrier to tone it down. He arrived in front of the school and had to take up a good bit of the drop off lane. Adults and kids alike stared at the car as Sam emerged and opened the door for the girls.

"That was so awesome!"

"Thanks, Mr. Axe, that was really cool!"

"You're welcome, ladies." He closed the door and tipped his hat to them. "Espie?"

She stopped talking to Zoe and turned. "Yes, Dad?"

"I'll be here tonight when you get out of school to pick up you and your friends."

The girls squealed in delight. Esperanza stood blinking and staring at her father through tear-filled eyes. "Thanks, Dad." She closed the distance between them and gave him an emotional embrace. He kissed her cheek. "This was a really awesome birthday surprise."

"Happy birthday, baby."

"Love you, Daddy."

"Love you too. Now go have a good day at school. I'll see you afterwards!"

She broke away, waved, and joined her friends as they walked toward the school, chattering excitedly about their trip. Sam watched her, and his smile couldn't get any wider.

"Hey, you wanna move that thing?"

Sam broke out of his reverie and hurried to the car. "Sorry! Not every day your daughter turns twelve!" He got in, started it up, and went home. He still had a lot of work to do before he picked up Espie and her friends after school.

All day, he couldn't help grinning. His daughter thought she was having a nice quiet dinner with the family, but thanks to everyone contributing, they had something else in mind. But first, he had to assemble the new bike that he and Yvette bought her. He arrived at home and found his father already working on it.

"Dad, you didn't have to help with this! You and Maddie have already done so much!"

"Nonsense, Son. I've learned that part of being a grandpa involves spoiling the kids, so I'm trying to do my part to achieve that goal." He laughed as he tightened a bolt. "So go on, get changed, and help me out here!" He flexed his hand and shook out a cramp.

"I'll be right out." Sam returned quickly, and the two finished the bike in no time.

Yvette spent the morning decorating Espie's cake. It was simple, yet elegant, all white frosting and curly borders. She used sugar granules to make it sparkle, and topped it with a figure skating figurine. She spent the rest of her day preparing the dining room for all the guests she anticipated. After Sam took the girls out for pizza, he would bring them home for cake and ice cream. She and Samuel would be eating alone, but she didn't mind. This was going to be one of the most treasured birthdays Esperanza would ever have.

While Yvette worked on the party, Sam worked on his investigation. He delved more into the war of words between Penny and the anonymous IceBaby, although by mid-afternoon, he uncovered her identity. He called Michael as soon as he was certain.

"Mike, I have some more info. How are things going with you guys?"

"We're at the arena right now. Ms. O'Loughlin had a morning practice session, broke for lunch, and then another session all afternoon. She's in the middle of that right now." He paused. "She still looks unsteady out on the ice, Sam. Until you pointed that out the other day, I didn't see it. Now I do."

"Yeah, well, she has something to be uneasy about."

"You found something."

"I found out who IceBaby is. It's Laura Brady, just as I suspected. But Laura also has a web site, very similar in design to Penny's, with a forum on it as well. I also get the impression she has someone else writing replies for her, because they're just too perky to be believed."

"So we've got two ice queens who have more in common than not, with an intense rivalry."

"I paid Laura a visit, just got back from that. She wasn't very cooperative, but she was adamant that she had nothing to do with the attempted attack on Penny. She was telling the truth, Mike. I could see it in her body language. She hates Penny, but not that much." He let out a deep sigh. "So that puts us back at square one."

"You think this was all orchestrated by Walter?"

"I don't know. Think you can talk to him and get a feel for where he's coming from on this?"

"Sure. He's pretty elusive, but he does hover around her. Jack thinks he's in love with her."

"Really."

"Yeah. He's either in love with her or just crazy obsessed. I haven't figured it out yet. I just know he spends an awful lot of time hanging near her elbow, making sure everything is perfect. It goes beyond just being her assistant. Even I can see that."

"Let me know what you find out. I'm going to keep hunting for info on some of these other people who might have an issue with our client, and see if any of them are of a mind to harm her."

"Good luck, Sam."

"You too, Mikey."

"See you later tonight. We'll be by for some of that cake. Oh yeah, and to say 'Happy birthday' to Espie."

Sam went back to work after getting off the phone with Michael. As he began to untangle the complicated relationships in Penny's life, he stumbled upon something totally unexpected. None of the tabloids even had this, and he had to check with county records to see if it was true. He sat at the computer, staring at the information, and instinctively hit the save button.

"Sam!" Yvette poked her head into the room. "You better get yourself together. It's almost time to pick up Espie and her friends at school!"

He glanced up at the clock. "Wow. Sometimes I don't know where that time goes."

Yvette came into the room and wrapped her arms around him from the back. "I take it you found something good."

"Oh yeah, this is a bombshell." He turned off the computer, stood, and kissed her quickly on the cheek as he passed by to go to the bedroom and change.

She stood alone, wondering what exactly he meant. But she was well aware of the secrecy required in his work, so she didn't pry. He would tell her in time, or if it was that big, with a high profile client like Penny, it would eventually come out in the press.

* * *

Six hyper girls waited with Esperanza in the loading area when Sam arrived with the limousine. He laughed to himself when he saw their faces, because they looked like they didn't actually believe he would come back for them. He parked, let them into the back with a lot of flair, and eyed all the kids and parents watching. He knew the girls were excited about the attention, but they had no idea that there were more surprises in store. It wasn't until he left the neighborhood and got onto a main thoroughfare that one of the girls noticed.

"Mr. Axe, where are we going?"

"Yeah, I thought we were going home," Esperanza said as she glanced through the tinted windows at the afternoon traffic.

"You'll see when we get there," he answered with a smile.

He drove them to the beach, where they had a couple of hours of fun in the sun, and then took them to a gourmet pizza restaurant. He had to silently thank Maddie and his dad for funding this part of the adventure. They even arranged for the staff to sing to Espie, in Italian, as the girls ate canolis for dessert.

But like all good things, the fun had to end. Sam took the girls home, stopping at each one and impressing the parents as he let each girl out in front of her house. Finally, it was just Espie in the back. He glanced at her and saw her sprawled out on the seat, enjoying the luxury of it all for just a little longer.

"Dad, this was the best birthday ever! Thank you!"

"Well, you'll have to thank your grandparents, aunts, and uncles. And Jack and Jesse. They all helped put this together for you."

"Wow." A smile spread across her face. She was feeling especially loved at that moment. When they arrived at the house, everyone was waiting to sing and share her cake. She sat with all her loved ones around her, except Uncle Nate and his family. They couldn't make it, but at least he let her dad use the car from his Miami fleet.

* * *

Sam waited until after Espie was in bed to return the limo to Nate's business. He was on his way when his phone rang. It was late, and he really wanted to get home, do some more research, and then get to bed at a decent hour.

"Hello?"

"Sam, its' me, Jesse. You still have that limo?"

"Yeah, I was just returning it to Nate's. Why?"

"Swing around to the Victor and pick us up. We need to get Penny somewhere safe."

He didn't like the sound of that. "What's going on, Jesse?"

"Just get here ASAP, okay?"

"Okay, my ETA is five minutes." He switched lanes and headed for the entrance ramp that would get him back downtown and over to South Beach. All the way, he wondered what happened. Obviously, no one got shot, or Jesse would have sounded a lot more tense.

He closed in on the Victor and saw flashing red and blue lights up ahead. He couldn't get more than two blocks away. Sam parked in the street, since there was no other place he could go, got out, and searched the crowd for Jesse.

"Sam, over here!"

Sam turned and saw Jesse coming fast with Penny, grasping her arm. She carried a suitcase and rushed to keep up with him, a scared look on her face that beat anything she wore that day the person on the other side of the phone line threatened her. Jesse opened the door and she got in, and then he climbed in back with her.

"Where's the goon squad?"

"I sent them off on a perimeter sweep," Jesse answered.

"Can you tell me what's going on?"

"Let's go to your house. I'll explain on the way." Jesse looked over at Penny. She sat staring out the window, uncertainty in her features. He laid a hand on her arm and she jumped. "It's okay, Penny. We're going to make sure you stay safe."

She glanced at Jesse, nodded, and then met Sam's eyes. Yes, she was definitely terrified.

"Jesse, the limo is too high profile. Let's go to Nate's and pick up my car."

"Oh yeah, that's definitely low profile."

"Hey, it may be old, but it runs great!"

"Sorry, Sam. Didn't mean to diss your car." Jesse changed the subject. "Okay, here's the deal. Someone called in a bomb threat on the hotel, shortly after Penny posted something on her web site aimed at this IceBaby." Jesse related what had happened. "As she was going through other responses that her staff had sent, she found that IceBaby came back with a threat that she was going to blow up the hotel with Penny in it. I checked with the front desk, and they'd already received a call and were evacuating everybody."

"So how and why did you ditch her security?"

"Walter was conspicuously absent while the threats were flying." Jesse replied, and added, "Just to be on the safe side, I told the other two to do a perimeter check and then I had Penny pack up a bag and we got out."

"Are you sure this is really necessary?"

Sam eyed her in the rearview mirror. "Yes. Ms. O'Loughlin, if someone really planted a bomb in the hotel, you need to start taking these threats seriously." He tapped his earpiece. "Call home."

Yvette picked up on the first ring. "Sam, where are you? Enjoying the ride?" She chuckled.

"No, I had to take a detour. After I get my car, I'm bringing Jesse and our client home with me. She needs a safe place to stay for at least tonight."

"You're kidding, right? Espie's gonna freak."

"No, I'm not kidding. And don't tell Espie. Is she in bed?"

"Yes, she's asleep, amazingly enough. I think you wore her out with all the excitement."

"Good. Get the daybed set up for our guest. I'll see you in a bit. Jesse will be staying the night too. Oh, and don't turn the back porch light on."

"Okay, see you soon."

He cut the connection. "Now, Jess, when we get there, I'll park in the garage and we'll take her through the side door."

When they arrived at Sam's house, Yvette waited at the back door and let them in with a big friendly grin. "Welcome to the Axe household, Ms. O'Loughlin."

"Thank you." She looked around the kitchen, noted the dirty dishes on the counter, and a few pieces of cake sitting on a serving platter. "This didn't change any of your plans, did it?"

"Oh no! The party's been over for awhile, and I've just been cleaning up the dining room. The kitchen is next." Yvette smiled, and she started for the doorway that led to the dining room. "Come on, I'll show you where you can put your stuff. I'm sorry that you'll have to sleep on the daybed. I'll bet it's not as comfy as the beds at the Victor."

"It'll be fine. Thank you." She studied the dining room and living area as she walked through, sizing up the kind of people who would take in a celebrity when she was in need of shelter. It wasn't as opulent as she was used to, but it was homey. Besides, she was desperate at the moment.

At the top of the stairs were two rooms. The one to the left announced in wooden letters that it was Samuel's room. The door was closed. A small bulletin board was attached to the door, with pencil drawings tacked to it. On the door next to his, Esperanza's name and the surrounding flowers were stenciled directly onto the wood panels. One of her medals hung from a nail centered on the door. It didn't escape Penny's attention. They turned one hundred eighty degrees and Yvette led her down a short hall past the bathroom to Sam's office. At the end of the hall a door stood open, and she noticed that a bedside lamp illuminated the comfortable bed and furnishings inside.

"This is my husband's office, but it's also a guest room when needed." She led her inside, turned on the light, and pulled the blinds before Penny came into the room. "Don't want anyone seeing you from outside."

"No, of course not." She glanced around with eyes taking in everything from the family photos on the wall over the daybed to a bulletin board plastered with articles, manuals for guns, and a lot of other intriguing things that she would have to check out later when she was alone. During the span of her career, she'd never set foot in a home that seemed so brazenly open and honest. Despite her fears, she felt comfortable and safe.

"Well, you'll probably want to settle in, at least a little. You can hang up whatever you like in the closet. It's kind of small, but judging by the size of your suitcase, I don't think that'll be a problem." Yvette smiled at her.

"It'll be fine. Thank you, Mrs...um..."

Yvette laughed and flapped her hand in the air. "We're far from formal around here! You can call me Yvette." Her voice trailed off and the two women stood in silence.

"I have to say...Yvette...you're taking this quite well for having me sprung on you at the drop of a hat."

"I learned a long time ago that flexibility is a requirement for being married to Sam and dealing with his friends. When he called and said he was bringing you home, I knew exactly what to do. We don't use our home as a safe house very often, so you should be quite secure here. With Jesse and Sam, you haven't got a thing to worry about! Good night, Ms. O'Loughlin. I hope you rest well here in our home."

"Thank you."

With a silent nod, Yvette left the room and closed the door to give her some privacy. She went downstairs where Sam and Jesse sat at the kitchen table and finished off two of the leftover pieces of cake.

"Yvette, that was awesome," Jesse said before washing down his last bite with a cup of coffee.

"Thanks. As you can see, it was quite a hit." She crossed the room and opened the dishwasher, then set the plates and other dishes inside. "I showed Penny to her room. I think she's still shaken up."

"She was pretty upset that I made her leave her hotel room. I almost had to carry her over my shoulder," Jesse said.

Sam turned his attention from his wife to Jesse. "So what happened? Your earlier explanation sounded kind of sketchy."

"I was with her in the hotel room, and the two goons were outside. I have no idea where Wally was at the time, but Penny was on her laptop. She said she likes to go over the tweets and answers her people put in the forum to see what they're saying. I suppose she doesn't trust them to post the right things."

"It doesn't really help after the fact, but hey, whatever. So she got into another messaging spar with IceBaby, huh?"

"Yeah, I thought she was gonna pop a blood vessel she was so mad. But then she got the warning about the bomb, and I think it finally started to sink in that whoever this is is not playing games."

"Maybe she'll be more inclined to talk in the morning, after a good night's sleep," Sam said. "There's just too much of this that doesn't make sense." He sighed and finished off his coffee. "Eve, did you get some bedding for Jesse?"

"Yes, I put it on the couch. If it's not comfortable enough, we can get a cot out of the attic."

"No, don't go through any trouble on my account," Jesse said with a small smile. "I've slept in some gnarly conditions. The couch will be just fine."

"We better get some sleep. It's pretty late." Sam stood, took their plates and put them into the dishwasher with their coffee cups.

Yvette washed out the coffee pot and set it up to go off in the morning. "Night, Jesse."

"Night, Sam, Yvette. I'm going to stay up for a little longer, keep an eye on things."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

While everyone slept, Jesse stayed awake. He spent some time doing further research on the information that Sam gave him from his online investigation during the day, using his resources to find something on their suspects, things that Sam had only just scratched the surface of before he had to pick up his daughter and her friends. Satisfied that he'd made some progress, Jesse only had a couple hours left to catch some sleep before the Axe household would start to wake up, so he fluffed up a pillow on one end of the couch, laid down and dragged a blanket over himself. He didn't even bother to remove his shoes, in case he needed to scramble on a moment's notice. Little did he know that both Sam and Yvette slept in their clothes as well, just in case.

Sam heard the office door open, and he sat up straight in bed. For a moment, he'd forgotten that Ms. O'Loughlin was in their house. Then he remembered, and he realized that if she was up and around, he needed to get up and prepare her for what was about to happen when his daughter discovered that she spent the night in their home. Until that moment, he hadn't second guessed his choice, but now he wasn't so sure it was a great idea.

He got out of bed and quickly changed into clean clothes. Sam opened the door and noted that the office door was wide open. As he passed, he glanced inside. The blinds were still drawn, the room dark. The bathroom was also dark and unoccupied. _Where'd she go? _Only a night light in the hall illuminated the landing and the stairs. He carefully descended to the first floor, trying not to make noise and wake Jesse. A light was on in the kitchen, and he crossed the room to see what their guest was doing.

"Ms. O'Loughlin, it's me, Sam Axe." He softly announced his arrival in an attempt to not scare her. He entered the kitchen and found her standing, leaning against the counter, staring at him with wide eyes. In one hand, she held the cake platter and a fork in the other. He noted that the last piece was almost gone.

"I...I'm sorry, Mr. Axe. This cake...it just looked too good, and...and I was hungry. I didn't eat anything last night at the hotel, with us having to get out so fast, and..."

"No need to explain." He held up a hand and came into the room. "I'm sorry, we should have offered you something. If I'd known you hadn't eaten last night, I'm sure we had something in the fridge..."

"It's okay, really. I don't want to be a bother."

Sam glanced at her, his head tilted as he tried to figure her out. She must have been really frightened by last night's incident, because she'd lost her abrasiveness. "You want some coffee? I can get a pot going."

"No, no thanks." She picked at the few bites of cake that were left on the platter.

"Well, I'm going to have some, so it's not like you're putting me out or anything." He pressed a button to override the timer, and as the coffee brewed he pulled out cups, sugar and creamer and set everything on the table. "Why don't you have a seat, Ms. O'Loughlin?"

"Sure. Thanks." She waited until he poured her a cup before finishing the cake. "Did your wife make this?"

"Yes, she did."

"It's good. I haven't had any cake in...well, I don't remember how long. Have to keep my weight under control, you know. If I gain more than five pounds..." She shook her head. "Never mind. You don't care about my troubles."

"Well, actually, we do. That's why you hired us, to take care of at least one of your problems. Remember?" He gave her a crooked smile.

"True. But I don't think you really want to hear the drama of my life as a superstar skating legend, blah blah blah."

The coffee maker beeped, and Sam arose to retrieve the pot. He poured her a cup of coffee and one for himself. After returning the pot to the hot plate, he sat down and waited for her to speak, but her talkative mood must have passed.

"Dad?"

Sam turned in his chair and saw Esperanza standing in the doorway. Her hair was a mess and she still wore her nightgown. "What are you doing up, Espie? It's still early."

"I know. I wanted a drink of water, and I saw the light on down here." She squinted her sleepy eyes and stared at Penny. "Am I dreaming, or is that really Penny…."

"Yes, it's really her, honey." He reached out, and Esperanza came closer.

"Dad, she's in our kitchen. Why?" She let him put his arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. She was within touching distance of her idol, but she was still too startled to brave it.

Penny watched her reaction with amusement. Most girls freaked out when they saw her, but this one had a level head on her shoulders.

"Someone tried to blow up the hotel where she was staying, so we brought her here for safe keeping."

"When did this happen?"

"Last night. You were already in bed sleeping."

Espie suddenly realized that she stood in her nightgown in the presence of the object of her admiration, looking her worst, while Penny appeared polished as usual. She broke away from Sam and turned for the door, her voice coming out on a wail. "Oh Dad, how could you do this to me! At least you could have warned me that she would be here!"

Penny waited until she heard Espie's feet on the stairs before she burst out into laughter. Sam kept a more reserved face. She thought she saw disapproval in his eyes, so she sobered and explained. "I'm sorry, Mr. Axe. I really expected her to start screaming or something. Instead, she was just as cool as could be, until she realized how she looked in front of me. You have to admit, it was kind of funny."

"Esperanza takes a little too much stock in appearances sometimes. And way too much in you, Ms. O'Loughlin."

"You don't approve of that."

"No, especially not after the things I've learned about you in the past few days."

She leaned forward, challenging him. "And what have you learned about me?"

"You were born into wealth, contrary to what you like to say on your web site. Your father and mother financed your skating career until you hit the big time. Then you earned your own fortune and after that you had no use for them. You've been married and divorced, your ex had an affair with Laura Brady, and you had an affair with Wally…."

"That's not true," she spat out the words. "Why would I want to have an affair with my half brother?"

"Half brother?"

"Yes, my father's son. He was married before he married my mother, and they had me."

"I see. So now Wally works for you, is that it?"

"I know what you're thinking, Mr. Axe. I don't take advantage of Walter or treat him like dirt because he's only slightly related to me. I pay him quite well, and he and I are really quite similar, so it works out for both of us." She paused, pushed the platter away and went for a second cup of coffee. "Anything else you dug up from the rumor mill?"

"Not necessarily rumors, but I have some screen names I want to check out. Don't think you can help me with that." He hesitated, wanting to ask but afraid of stepping on a landmine. "Have you always been this…self-absorbed…or did you just get that way after you heard too many times how great you are?"

She laughed, and a smile crossed her face. "I like you, Mr. Axe. You don't play around. And you're right, I am self-absorbed. When you have as much success as I have and spend all your time working, it happens."

"But you still have plenty of time to party, or so I hear."

Penny shook her head, the smile still on her face. "Another falsehood. Mr. Axe, I am in bed, alone, before nine every night. I'm up at four thirty to go to the gym, lift weights, head out for a ballet session, and then, if I have time, I grab some breakfast. It usually consists of some crappy energy bar on the way to the ice. I'll have a yogurt during practice, but otherwise, I don't eat a thing until lunch. And then I have to watch my diet. If my coach saw me eat that cake, he'd have a heart attack." She sighed. "Anyway, after lunch, it's back to another four hours of practice, get cleaned up, grab some dinner, and after some time to wind down with a book or television, I'm off to bed to do it all over again the next day."

"How do you fit in all your other responsibilities?"

"On Tuesdays and Thursdays I do all the modeling, commercials and whatever, and try to fit in some practice time. It's not easy." She shook her head, dismayed at her schedule. "If it weren't for those days, Mr. Axe, I don't think I'd know what day it was anymore."

He could tell she wasn't lying. By the look in her eyes, he saw that her rigorous schedule was taking its toll. "You know, I learned something recently. You have to take time out of work for your family. Well, maybe in your case, you need to take personal time. Slow down a little."

"I can't! If I stop doing something, like the endorsements, they'll dry up and then where will I be when my career is over?" She paused and took a sip of her cooling coffee. "It's already happening. I'm losing my edge."

"Well, what happens to all this money you're making? I assume you're investing it, putting some away…."

"My financial well-being is not your concern." She sat up straighter in her chair and looked down her nose at him.

"Maybe not, but I'm just saying, it's not like you're going to starve to death if everything went away. Right?"

"What's your point?"

"My point is, if you lay off a little, you're not going to drive yourself to the poorhouse. And if you don't let some of it go, you'll wind up ruining your relationships, your health, and God knows what else."

She stared at him, unsure of what to say, because outside of her professional relationships, and her shaky bond with her brother, there was no one. She'd already driven everyone away with her obsession for success and maintaining it once she held it in her hands.

He saw he'd struck a nerve, and she was seriously thinking about what he'd said. Maybe there was hope for her after all.

"I think coming here was a bad idea."

"Staying at the hotel would have been an even worse idea. Whatever got this all started has spiraled out of control, and if you aren't careful, it's going to hurt you. Maybe even..." Sam's phone rang. "Just a second." He quickly glanced at the screen before answering. "Yeah, Mike. It's kind of early, isn't it?"

"I decided to take over for Jesse, but then I got to the Victor and found out it was evacuated last night. Where's Jesse, and where's our client?"

"They're both here, Mike. Nothing to get excited about."

"Well, if you knew what I found when I went up to Ms. O'Loughlin's hotel room, you'd be pretty excited too, and not in a good way."

"Mike, what's going on?"

"I found Laura Brady in Penny's room."

"Oh nice, she must have faked the bomb threat to break in."

"I don't know. But we'll never know if she doesn't survive." Silence met his revelation. "She was beaten up pretty bad, Sam. They just took her to the hospital. Guess what was the weapon of choice?"

"A baseball bat? What is up with the bat theme here?" He glanced at Penny and noted the scared look on her face. "Mike, I think you should probably get over here."

"I'm on my way."

Sam hung up and placed the phone on the table. "Okay, I don't know how much of that you heard, but Laura Brady was in your room. Mike found her, and he said she was badly beaten. They don't know if she's going to make it."

Penny glanced up at him. "And you think I did it?"

"Are you confessing?"

She frowned and her eyes narrowed at him. "You're crazy! We hate each other's guts, but I wouldn't risk everything to try to kill her."

"What about Wally?"

"Walter couldn't. He wouldn't."

"What aren't you telling me?"

"If you really want to know who I think is trying to destroy me, look no further than my ex, Brandon. He wasn't just Laura's lover. He also took over her management, so that phone call you heard the other day...that was him. He threatened to expose our secret if I didn't give him part of everything I earned while we were married. It's ridiculous! He signed the papers and knew what he was signing, he got nothing out of me, and will never get one red cent. I guess he's suffering from a major case of buyer's remorse, leaving me for Laura."

"So you're saying you think he's the one trying to get you? Why would he bludgeon Laura, if he loved her?"

"Brandon may be an idiot, but I don't really believe he's got it in him to beat up anyone with anything more dangerous than a wet noodle. But Laura has people who work for her, like I do. Maybe one of them is doing this."

Sighing, Sam muttered, "Oh brother, it's back to the beginning then." He heard a knock on the back door, Michael's signal. "Excuse me a second, that's Mike."

He let Michael inside, offered him some coffee, and the men joined Penny at the table. "Good morning, Ms. O'Loughlin."

"Mr. Westen." She nodded and stared into her coffee cup. "How's Laura?"

"We don't know yet. Whoever did this, they really did a number on her. They were dumb enough to leave the bat, but it probably doesn't have any prints."

"Paxson called me yesterday and told me they couldn't get anything usable off the bat we found at the arena. So we're stuck with whatever DNA they get from the mask." Sam refilled his cup and sat down again. "Is there anyone on your staff who you may have had a disagreement with, or rubbed the wrong way, enough for them to want to hurt you in some way?"

"I rub everybody the wrong way. That's who I am, and if you don't like it, tough." The corner of Penny's mouth tipped up. "As far as what happened to Laura, there's no way Walter could have done it. He sustained a shoulder injury several years ago. He can barely get his left arm up to his shoulder, and with the limited motion, there's no way he could swing a bat."

"I'll have to go dig some more, see if maybe we've got some whacked out fan doing this." Michael glanced at Penny and noticed her studying her hands. "You have something for us?"

"Like Walter told you, I get people saying things all the time, threatening me or the exact opposite. I've had dozens of marriage proposals, requests for dates, you name it. Some of them are more persistent than others."

"Do you keep copies of the mail from the more persistent ones?" Michael asked her, and he glanced at Sam. Maybe they had something to go on here.

"I have a staff member who keeps track of these things. At first I was flattered, but then they kind of creeped me out, so I had Danny compile them and weed out the really weird ones."

"I'm surprised you wouldn't just toss them and write them all off as whack jobs," Sam said.

Penny sighed and stared out the window at the lightening scene. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try us."

"I was keeping them for some day...some day when I needed reminding that I mattered to someone, even if they were just a fan."

Sam asked, "Is Danny one of your people who answers questions on your forum?"

"He's the only one. He does everything. He's tireless in reading all my fan mail, handling the web site and the tweets. He's been very loyal to me and he's done an excellent job." She looked up at them. "He helped make my image."

"Sounds like a real valued employee." Michael said as he got up for a refill. "Uhoh, looks like we need another round here." He took the last of the pot.

"I don't need any more, thanks," Penny said and waved her hand. "I can't be jittering around on my skates."

"I think you need to skip practices today," Sam declared as he eyed her, waiting for her reaction.

"What? I...I never miss practice! I have the flu, or a hairline fracture, doesn't matter, I skate! It's like...like breathing for me!"

"Sam's right. You need to keep a low profile for a few days. We can offer you protection and monitor the chatter that results if you fall off the radar for a few days."

"Our suspect will start to get squirrelly when he or she can't figure out where you are. They may post things to your web site. Do you have any publicity appearances coming up?"

She thought for a moment. Then, with a puzzled expression, she answered. "Yes, I do. My foundation is donating money to the Children's Hospital, and I'm supposed to be there next Saturday to present the check." She stared at the men and her eyes moistened. "No, you can't be thinking what I think you are! Not with all those kids around!"

So, the ice queen did have a soft spot after all. Sam and Michael assured her that everything would be fine. Their team would be with her at all times, covering her.

"But what if this person phones in a bomb threat on the hospital? That's unacceptable!"

"That's what we've got Fi for. My wife," Michael smiled. "She's an expert with explosives, and if someone really does plant a bomb in that hospital, she can take care of it."

"And I'm sure we can recruit Eve to stick close to you," Sam added.

"Oh, volunteering me again for a job, huh?" Yvette appeared, crossed to stand behind Sam, and put her arms around him. He turned his head, a guilty look on his face, and she kissed his lips. "You can count me in. The kids can go over by Samuel and Maddie."

"Well, there we go. With us, Jack, and Jesse, we've got ourselves quite the crew." Sam grinned. "Now we just have to work out the details and orchestrate things so our suspect goes along with our plan and shows up for the blowout. So to speak."

Penny looked doubtful, but they'd kept her safe so far. "Let me know what I need to do, if anything."

"Sam, I have to run an errand, but I'll be back later if you need me here to watch Ms. O'Loughlin."

"Jesse's still here. Not sure how much longer he'll be asleep, but yeah, it might be a good idea for you to come back."

"Okay, see you in a little while."

Penny sighed deeply. "So, now what do I do?"

"Just hang out here and relax, that's what you can do, Ms. O'Loughlin." Yvette smiled at her. "See how ordinary people live, and who knows, you might actually like it. Want some breakfast?"

Penny smiled. That's all Yvette needed, and she went to work.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Living with a superstar wasn't going to be easy. It made breakfast conversation awkward, for one thing. Esperanza came down dressed and looking much more like herself, but quiet. She couldn't stop staring at Penny. Sam nudged her under the table, urging her to eat and stop fixating on their guest. Samuel didn't care one way or the other. Yvette tried to engage Penny in conversation, but she was quiet. Sam thought maybe she was being standoffish, but when he met her eyes, he saw uncertainty in them. She had to have been mulling over everything that happened in the past twenty four hours, wondering how it would all play out. With their help, it would end well, or so he hoped.

"You know," Penny finally spoke, "Esperanza..."

Espie's head came up and she locked on her, despite her father's prompting her not to, eagerly waiting what she had to say. "Yes?"

Penny let a warm smile tug at her lips. "I saw you skate, that day we met the first time. You have really good form."

"I do?" Her eyes grew wide.

"Yes, you do. There are a few things you can work on, but most of it is just needs developing over time."

Sam was amazed. He didn't think the woman could be nice just to be nice. He got the impression that everything she said and did had some ulterior motive to further her career. Giving a young girl tips on her skating didn't fit that category. It was totally unexpected. But he also would have preferred if she'd kept her mouth shut. Espie hung on her every word, and he feared that the woman's encouragement would make her focus even more on the skating. He was already worried that Espie was on the fast track to where Penny was now. He didn't want this kind of life for his daughter.

As they ate breakfast, he watched and listened while Espie peppered her with questions, talking shop with Penny. The woman opened up and actually seemed interested in conversing. Unfortunately, she created a situation where nothing could drag Esperanza away from her idol, who in a matter of a half hour was fast becoming a mentor.

"Espie, it's time for you to get ready for school," Sam spoke gently.

"But Dad..."

"No, 'but Dad'! There's no limo ride today, kiddo. You can ride your new bike to school."

"Awwww, man!" She dragged herself out of her chair and headed for the stairs, leaving behind a bowl of half-eaten, soggy cereal.

He called out to her. "She'll most likely still be here when you get home, so don't worry!"

"Cool!"

Penny laughed, and even Sam couldn't help but chuckle. He said, "I'm sorry. She's crazy about skating, and she has a talent for it, but we're trying really hard to not let it become her whole life."

"Unfortunately, if she wants to win, it has to be." Penny sobered. "Mr. Axe, I don't blame you for not wanting her to go this route. I mean, when you see how messed up my life is, it's easy to understand why you're so concerned."

"Yeah. Well, if you'll excuse me, Ms. O'Loughlin..."

"Please, call me Penny."

He accepted the olive branch. "Fine. You can call me Sam."

She smiled. "Sam. Is there anything I can do around here?"

"No," he answered as he stood and pointed at her. "Because you're supposed to be taking it easy. Just relax! My wife has some magazines in the living room, and there are bookshelves full of reading material, if you're so inclined."

"Hey, Sam, Penny."

Penny nodded at Jesse with a smile on her face.

"Jesse, you slept in, man!"

Jesse yawned and opened the cupboard, grabbed a coffee cup and poured himself some brew from a fresh pot. "I was up really late last night. I wrote up some notes, and they're over by the couch on top of my computer. Maybe they'll help you do some more checking with your sources."

"Thanks, Jesse! I'll be up in my office if anyone needs me."

Sam entered the office and noticed that Yvette had already made up the daybed. The blinds were open, letting in the morning sunlight. The rays ran down the wall above his desk, illuminating the bulletin board. He noticed that some of the things on it were askew. A couple of pictures tilted. His dog tags hung strangely, when they always dangled from the bottom of the chain. _Our guest was snooping! _It amused him, because Sam wasn't sure she wanted to get to know them more than necessary, but this evidence proved that he was wrong. Maybe her allowing them use her first name was a step in the right direction toward melting the ice queen.

Once his computer was up and running, Sam skimmed Jesse's notes, lists of fan web sites, e-mail forums, and other fan related things. IceBaby seemed to frequent a lot of them. Maybe he was wrong, that the screen name belonged to someone else; someone who had the ability to use Laura's ISP address. If Laura's operation worked like Penny's, then it had to be an insider. As he built upon the information that Jesse supplied, he became increasingly convinced that their suspect was a fan who worked for Laura.

Sam hated fans. He recalled the woman who a few years earlier had latched onto Michael and wouldn't leave him alone, with disastrous results. There were thousands, if not millions, of fans who were perfectly sane and kept a leash on their devotion. But the ones who didn't were the ones he worried about. He imagined Espie having fans like that someday, and the thought made him sick.

After a couple of hours of web surfing, Sam was ready for a break. He went downstairs and found Jesse at the kitchen table working on his computer.

"Where's Penny? Where's Eve?"

"They went outside."

"Outside! Are you crazy?"

"Sam, don't worry, with that fence around most of the yard, and that hat she's wearing, nobody will recognize her." He glanced up at Sam. "The woman was going stir-crazy, and it's been, what, a couple hours? Yvette had to do something to get her busy."

Sam glanced out the window and saw the two women on their knees weeding the back flower beds. He imagined someone watching from the side street wouldn't be able to see her, because the garage partly concealed the view, and the big straw hat helped hide her face. He relaxed a little.

"Have you heard anything from Mike?"

"Yeah. The cops have gone over Penny's hotel room looking for evidence connecting someone to Laura's attacker. He said they had something promising." He paused to take a sip of his third cup of coffee. "He's heading over to the hospital to see if he can talk to anyone linked to Laura."

"Penny's ex would probably be there."

"That's what we thought. So, did you find anything?"

"I went over that list you made, checked out these sites, and discovered that IceBaby spends a lot of time posting online. IceBaby is not Laura. She wouldn't have this kind of free time, and the last time she posted anything was about an hour ago. I'd like to get a list of Laura and Penny's people, and see if we can get anything on them. I'd really like to put a keystroke program on their computers."

"Yeah, good luck with that. I think we just need to get a list of the employees and start talking to them. We can look at this stuff on the 'net all day, but it's not getting us anywhere."

"Well, we can at least start with Penny." Sam left the house and crossed the yard.

Yvette heard feet swishing through the grass. In one fluid movement, she straightened, pulled out a gun from her tool basket, and whirled, aiming for whoever approached them. "Oh, Sam! It's just you!"

The corner of his mouth tipped up. "It looks like I've trained you too well, Eve."

She put the safety back on and stuck the gun into the basket again, her eyes catching Penny's startled expression. "I learned from one of the best." Her smile turned into a grin. "So what's up?"

"I need to borrow Penny for awhile."

Yvette turned and looked at Penny. "Yeah, go on. There's not a lot left to do here."

"Okay." She got up from her knees a little too quickly. While it was something different, weeding was not a task she would enjoy on a regular basis. "What did you need from me, Sam?"

He smiled, glad that she remembered they were on a more informal basis around his place. "Come on up to my office. I want to talk about the people you have working for you."

"I know I suggested that maybe one of Laura's staff was behind all this, but do you think one of my people is involved as well?"

Jesse turned and gave her a nod as she entered the kitchen. "That's exactly what we think."

"We're going upstairs to talk."

"Okay. Let me know if you come up with anything good."

Sam led Penny up to the office. She sat on the daybed while he took the desk chair. He turned so she wasn't entirely at his back, set his feet up on the desk, and laid his computer on his lap. "Okay. First I'd like to get a list of names. Who works for you, what they do, that sort of thing."

"Sure. It's not like I have a whole entourage. It's basically just Walter and the two bodyguards, Danny, and Reyna. She's my personal assistant. She and I are virtually the same size, and she knows my tastes, so she does my clothes shopping, gets me whatever I want or need, takes care of my dry cleaning, all that fun stuff that makes life so...normal." Sam studied her, and it made her feel uncomfortable. His expression had pity written all over it. "What? I'm too busy for that sort of stuff!"

"But I bet if you had the chance, you'd do it all yourself."

"Why? Reyna does such a good job of it." She hugged herself and moved closer to the window.

"Not too close," Sam warned.

She stopped and turned toward him.

He smirked. "I suppose you could have Reyna look out the window for you."

"Sam, that's ridiculous."

"No more so than having people live life for you while you slave away at something that has lost its luster."

She laughed, but it didn't sound like she was amused. "You really know how to jump to bad conclusions. I really wish you could walk in my shoes for a day and see what I go through."

"I have, in a sense. Until a couple of weeks ago, I was letting my work rule my life. My family was suffering, and I was becoming a stranger to them. One day I realized where it was going. I felt like I was on a runaway train and I couldn't jump off."

He had her attention, and she sat on the edge of the daybed. "So, what did you do?"

"I took advantage of a break in our cases and made the decision to slow down. My partners and I agreed that we need to hire more people, because in a couple of weeks we'll have more cases again, and we all can't keep going the way we were."

"Things are different for you, Sam. You have a family that cares about you."

Sam put his feet on the floor and returned his laptop to the desk. Then he turned his chair to face her. "What about your parents? Your brother?"

"Walter is always there, but it's just become business between us." She sat on the bed and swallowed hard. "My parents...I think that ship sailed a long time ago. When I got so full of myself and my life, my dad pretty much gave up on me. My mom...I don't know about her."

"Maybe it's time to go home again and find out if it's not too late." Then he told her the story of his father, and how he let his career overshadow his family so that they hadn't seen him in decades. He spoke of the years of hate that built up inside him, and how the hurt of being abandoned affected his entire life. "But it ended well. My dad lives on the other side of the block, just across the alley from us. He married Mike's mom, and they're very happy together. Most importantly, he and I have forgiven all those lost years and have become very close. I wouldn't have thought it possible either when he first crossed my doorstep, but I'm glad it happened." He leaned back toward his desk, picked a couple of tissues from the box, and handed them to her.

"Thank you." She dabbed at her eyes. "That was such a sweet story. I don't know if such a thing could happen for me."

"You'll never know until you try it. Maybe you can get back what you lost. If it's that important to you, they'll see that you're motives are genuine and they'll respond."

"Hopefully not by throwing me out the door." She laughed weakly. "My father can hold a grudge a long time."

Sam let out a long sigh. "Then forgive him for being an idiot. I know if Espie got sucked into the kind of life you lead, when she came back to me, I'd welcome her with open arms."

"You two have a really special relationship, don't you?" Her smile was warm as she looked up at him.

"Yeah." His smile turned into a grin. "I love that kid to pieces."

"You're a lucky man, Sam."

"I know. And I try not to forget it!" He paused and turned to his computer. "So, about those people..."

He hadn't expected to get into such a deep conversation with Penny. It left him even more puzzled about the woman, and it became a turning point for her. As Penny spent a couple more days in their home, her cold persona fell away. She became just Penny, an unsure, insecure woman who used her fame as a crutch to keep herself from having to deal with real life. She thought the fantasy was so much better, but she was learning differently. Life in the Axe household was sometimes chaotic, but they were truly living in a house full of love, an emotion she'd been missing out on for so long. Having a real taste of ordinary life made her start to think about where she was headed and she wondered if it was all worth it. Her coach called on the fourth day of her sanctuary, insisting that she couldn't afford to spend any more time off the ice. She wasn't quite ready to give up her career yet, so she heeded his call.

"Sam, I have to go practice. Haven't you found the key to this yet?"

"Mike and Jesse have interviewed everybody on your list, and I've been searching their online activity, at least everything I can trace. We're getting close, real close, to putting this together."

"And?"

"And I can't really talk about it yet. I want to consult with my partners before we develop a strategy to trap them."

"Them. So it's more than one?"

"Yeah." He sighed, trying to figure out how to break this to her without giving away too much. "What we figure is that there is someone on your staff, and someone on Laura's staff who have been creating this atmosphere of animosity, cultivating it to the point where someone is going to wind up dead if we don't stop it."

"Why would anyone want to do that? It's crazy!"

"Think about it. Two famous skaters in a feud makes great headlines. Add the threats, violence with baseball bats, it's a lot of drama, and people eat it up." He patted her arm as he passed her in the kitchen on his way to the office. "Don't worry. We'll figure it out."

"But what about my practicing? I need to get back to the ice!"

Sam stopped in the doorway. "Is your coach meeting you at the rink?"

She nodded. "I'm supposed to be there at nine."

He glanced at his watch. "We've got fifteen minutes to get there. Let me put this stuff upstairs, and I'll take you." As he walked away, he got on the phone. "Mike, it's me. I'm taking Penny to the rink. She said she needs to practice, can't put it off any longer. Uh huh, yeah, I'll meet you there."

Penny waited as patiently as she could. She glanced around the kitchen, feeling a little pride in knowing she helped keep it so tidy. After breakfast, she helped Yvette with putting away the dishes and leftovers, and she wiped down the table. Something so simple, an everyday occurrence, yet it was a chore she'd never had to do before. Living simpler was refreshing. However, she wasn't sure she could ever make it permanent. Having a life without help...that was truly a scary prospect!

"Okay, ready to go?"

"Yes. Alex will have my gear waiting at the rink."

"Great." Sam turned back toward the dining room and yelled, "See you later, Eve!"

"Bye!" Her voice trickled down from upstairs. "Have a good practice, Penny!"

"Thanks!" Yvette's simple wish touched her heart. These people, who were just strangers a few days ago, cared about her. How many people would have taken her in and been so nice? It gave her a warm feeling to think of them as friends, and their charity and love gave her pause when she thought about how empty and cold her life outside these walls had become. It also left her feeling confused, because after this crisis was over, she couldn't see a clear path to her future. The only thing she could do was think about the present time, and what she would do on the ice.

* * *

Sam took his laptop along to finish up his data collecting. He monitored two of the sites that IceBaby frequented the most, realizing that the content of the posts sometimes included personal details about Penny's life, but never anything like public appearances. Maybe, if they posted Penny's date at the children's hospital, IceBaby might react. He ran the idea by Michael, and he gave Sam the green light to post it. Posing as 1ceMan, he wrote a note on the fan site and another in Penny's forum. He kept an eye out for Penny and their surroundings while he waited for the responses to come in, and Michael slowly walked the perimeter around the rink.

IceBaby replied. _Where did you find this out? It's invitation only! No fans allowed!_

Sam responded. _Word of mouth._

He'd hoped there would be another comment from IceBaby, but nothing happened. After a half hour he gave up, just as he saw a woman enter the arena and move straight for the rink. Sam got off the bleachers and cut in front of her before she reached the boards. Ever since they took Penny in, her bodyguards had been laid off, and Walter, upset at the WAR Agency's intrusion, kept his distance. So at the moment it was just Sam and Michael, who preferred to stay in the shadows in case he was needed.

"Can I help you?"

"Who are you?" She glared at him.

"I'm Sam Axe. Who are you?'

"Reyna. I'm Ms. O'Loughlin's assistant."

Sam nodded. "You got any ID?"

She snorted. "Looks like the queen has a new court." She muttered something else and pulled out her wallet, slipped her license from its pocket and showed it to Sam. "Happy?"

"Ecstatic." He studied her for a moment. She really was a body double for Penny, right down to her hair and eye color. "Miss Stadtler, how long have you known Penny?"

Reyna gazed at him, surprised that he used her employer's first name. "Ms. O'Loughlin and I have known each other a long time, since her first ice show. Her agent hooked me up to be her assistant."

"I bet it hasn't been easy."

"That's an understatement. Not having her around for a few days has been like a vacation for me. I don't get those, so hey, I take any break I can get."

"If you hate working for her so much, why do you stay?"

Reyna gave him a long look. "As much as I hate her as an employer, I'm still a fan. I care about what happens to her, so this whole thing with the attack and everything, it's been hard." She paused, a spark of recognition in her eyes. "Hey, you're one of those guys she hired to find out who's doing all this stuff, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. If there's anything you can tell us, even the most innocent thing that might lead us to something bigger, just let us know."

"Funny you should say that. Just before I got here, I was online and saw something odd."

"What was it?"

"Somebody posted about Ms. O'Loughlin's appearance at Children's this Saturday. The time and everything. Nobody, I mean, nobody, is supposed to have that information but us and the people who were invited."

"Really."

"The person who posted it said they heard it by word of mouth." She turned concerned eyes on Sam. "What if this is our attacker?"

"Don't worry. I'll look into it." He paused and studied her, letting his gaze rove over her long enough to make her uncomfortable.

"What?"

"You know that the time of the event has been changed for security reasons, right?"

Reyna's eyebrows shot up. "It's supposed to be at 2. How can you change it when all these people have been invited?"

Sam's radar was up_. __Some assistant she is! She should be on top of changes in Penny's schedule, yet she's been conspicuously absent the last four days._

"It's okay, we've informed everyone to be there at 2:30."

Her shoulders relaxed. "Good. Now, as long as this Iceman guy doesn't know and blab it to the world, we'll be okay, won't we?"

"Everything will be fine, Reyna." Sam nodded with a reserved look on his face.

Penny slid to a stop near the rink entrance. "Reyna, what are you doing here?"

The woman pasted on a pleasant smile for her employer. "Just wanted to see how things were going, if you needed anything, ma'am."

"No, I'm good. Great, actually." She turned a wide smile on Sam. "We'll be done in about a half hour, okay?"

"That's fine." He glanced at Reyna, gauging her reaction. She seemed to be on edge, uneasy at the change in her boss lady, and he suspected the reason why: she suddenly felt out of control and needed to regroup. Nothing was like it had been four days ago. Behind his poker face, Sam was celebrating, because after two days of fruitless searching, in five minutes of conversation he discovered that Reyna was IceBaby. And she had no clue that she'd just been lured into a trap.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Sam, she can't be IceBaby," Jesse said as he pored over his notes that night. "She's been writing derogatory things consistently, and then she turns around and gets upset that someone knows about an event that is supposed to be private? That'd be crazy."

"Let's see if my friend can get the ISP address, and maybe we can track whoever it is by using that." Sam sent an e-mail to his source, and while he waited for a response, they continued to discuss Reyna. "I'm tellin' ya, Jesse. If she isn't IceBaby, I'd be surprised because she's got a lot of hate for Penny, and she would be a perfect suspect." He kept his voice low as they discussed the situation at Carlito's. Michael and Jack were at Sam's watching over Penny. "As Penny's assistant, she has a lot of inside knowledge, including her vulnerabilities."

"What about Wally? We haven't seen him for almost four days now. He doesn't seem to have an online presence."

"Not that we know of, but I've been wondering about this other screen name that pops up a lot when IceBaby's around." He pointed to a screen name on a list. "He, or she, goes by I4UPenny. Sounds like a real fan, and from the screen name, you can't tell if it's a guy or a woman. But when my friend pulled the ISP address, it was a static IP at the Victor Hotel. Danny is running a server from there to keep Penny's web site up, so whoever used this screen name was working off that server."

"It could still be anybody in the hotel. Which is even more scary if they were there all that time with Penny."

"True, but I'm still thinking it has to be Wally. You've seen how he hangs around her, practically dotes on her. Then, when we spirit her away to a safe house, he gets upset with our taking over and just disappears. I4UPenny also been pretty quiet online the past few days. I think he's scared that we're on to him and he's holding off putting himself further into a noose, if he's the one who attacked Laura."

Jesse breathed and leaned forward in his chair. "Okay, let's say this I4UPenny is Wally. Unknown to Penny or any of the other staff, he monitors these sites and discovers this IceBaby posting nasty things about Penny. So he hijacks Penny's name to write responses, things escalate, and then he uses his own screen name to back up the things that he posted on Penny's behalf. I'm wondering what's up with this Danny guy?"

"He's still posting, damage control type stuff, and he's been cooperative in our investigation," Sam replied. "There's no doubt in my mind that he's completely loyal to Penny."

"So he's not a factor at all. I'd like to know who called in the bomb threat, and what they hoped to gain by it. It turned out to be false."

"Maybe in all the chaos, Wally hoped to assault Laura and take her out." Sam rubbed his eyes. They were tired from staring at a computer screen for so many days straight. "But Penny said he couldn't swing a bat."

"Not to her knowledge. But what if Wally was faking it, or he figured out a way to do it even with his physical issues?"

"You know, you've got a point there." Sam rifled through some papers until he found what he was seeking. "Here we go, the report Mike picked up from the cops. Laura's injuries were mostly lower body. Serious bruising on her legs, but she also had liver and kidney damage. That would be about the height Wally could swing at if he couldn't lift up his arm."

"Yeah, I can see that. What I'd like to know is what Laura was doing in Penny's room to begin with."

"If Wally is our suspect, let's say this is the scenario. He lures her to the room, beats the crap out of her, hoping that if she dies, not only will the negative messages stop, but Penny's main competition will be gone, and she can resurrect her faltering career." He paused. "But as we know, the messages didn't stop, so then he realized that he pegged them on the wrong person, when he should have been looking right under his nose."

"Reyna." Jesse finished with a nod.

"AKA IceBaby."

"This whole thing is nuts, man."

"If he finds out who IceBaby really is...we've gotta locate Reyna before he does," Sam exclaimed. He pulled out his phone and called the Victor. "Yes, this is Sam Axe. I've been hired to assist Ms. O'Loughlin with her security. We've been trying to locate Reyna Stadtler. Have you seen her today?" He listened to the short answer. "Thank you very much." As he hung up the phone, he let out a deep sigh.

Jesse knew the answer wasn't good. "She hasn't been there, I take it."

"Nope. Wally has been in and out of the hotel, but that's it."

"Okay, I'll try to track her down. If you find anything, let me know." Jesse closed up his laptop and assembled his things. "I think I'm going to take a trip over to the Victor and see what's shakin'."

"Be careful, Jess."

"I will." He grinned and left the table, and left Sam with the check.

"Hey, what's up with this!" He waved it over his head. "Ahhh...I guess that's what expense accounts are for." He glanced at the bottom line and whistled. "Fi's gonna flip when she sees this."

* * *

Jesse had no luck locating Reyna or Wally. It was as if they'd both fallen off the grid. Although IceBaby and I4UPenny were silent, the forum feuding continued. The pro-Penny camp rallied behind her. Laura's fans responded, and the media had taken up the war, broadcasting it everywhere. Meanwhile, Laura still lay in the hospital recovering from her attack, clueless as to how things got so out of control.

Jack and Sam went to see her, hoping to get more information on the attack, or if she could identify her attacker. She wasn't able to tell the police much, and she repeated what she told them.

"I'm sorry I don't know any more."

"Why were you there," Jack asked.

"Penny sent me a message. She wanted to talk about all this crazy stuff that had been going on. I thought maybe she was ready to put a halt to it. I know I sure was. I mean, this rivalry has just gotten way out of hand, and it wasn't doing either of us any good." She paused to get her breath and store up some energy to continue. "I've noticed that she's been slipping in competition, and she shouldn't be, because she's too good for that."

Sam and Jack glanced at each other. They hadn't expected Laura to be so complimentary in her assessment of her main competition. "So you thought you were there at her invitation." Sam asked, "You arrived, and then what?"

"Reyna answered the door and let me in, and she said that Penny would be right with me. So I sat down and waited a few minutes, and then the lights went out." She blinked as she remembered the scene. "Then somebody started hitting me with a bat. I tried to get away, but they got me wedged between a couple pieces of furniture. I couldn't move." She began to cry softly and swiped at her eyes. "I'm sorry, I can't give you a description of who did it."

"We're hoping that some of the evidence the police picked up will lead us to your assailant," Jack told her. "We thought maybe you could give us some other information that you didn't remember at the time."

"Laura, can you do something for me?"

"What, Mr. Axe?"

"Close your eyes for a minute, and think about that scene again. Only this time, ignore the visual and home in on anything auditory. Or even something you touched, or smelled."

Laura did as he asked. She closed her eyes and sent herself back into those memories, searching for anything. "I remember smelling something. A cologne. I couldn't tell you what it was, but it was familiar. I'd smelled it before."

"Was it a manly scent, or something a woman might wear?" Sam asked, his mind hatching ways to get into Wally's toiletries.

"It was definitely a man's scent." She cast her eyes away from them and said softly, "It reminded me of Brandon, to tell you the truth. But Brandon would never do something like this to me. He...he loves me."

"Thanks, that helps a lot. We'll see what we can dig up."

"Is this really going to help you find my attacker?" She looked at them, eyebrows raised in doubt.

"It'll certainly help," Jack answered with a smile. "You take care, Laura. We'll be in touch." He handed her a card. "If you think of anything else, just let us know."

"I will. Thank you."

* * *

After Sam's encounter with Reyna at the rink, they still had not been able to find Walter. They were hoping to locate him and spread the misinformation on the time change, but not even Penny could reach him on his cell phone. Brandon was even more elusive and it didn't appear as if he'd even stayed in Miami recently. Time had run out, and today was the day when they hoped that whoever was responsible for the attacks, verbal and physical, would come out and show themselves. The team was prepared and watching the growing crowd.

"Everything's in place," Jack said into his earpiece. "The invited guests are arriving, and no sign of Reyna or Wally."

"If they're working together and Reyna got a hold of Wally, they'll both be late to the party and we can catch them," Michael said as his eyes scanned the hospital atrium. Sam stood at the opposite end, surveying the crowd and checking guests' invitations.

"Nothing yet," Sam reported. He glanced up at the balcony where the ceremony would take place, and he saw Jesse and Fi walking casually about, mingling with those who had already arrived and made themselves at home with the drinks and snacks.

They didn't have to worry about looking for bombs. The police had already swept the building and found nothing, just like the night at the Victor. Whoever made that threat just wanted to evacuate the hotel, and there were no threats on the hospital, contrary to Penny's fears.

"Eve, how's Penny?"

"Nervous, but okay." Yvette answered him from an impromptu green room created for the occasion. She watched Penny pace until it made her nervous, and then she held an arm out to stop her. "Hey, it's going to be okay. We've got you covered. The place is crawling with security."

"You're all certain that Walter and Reyna are in on this together?"

"We aren't sure about Walter, but Reyna is definitely a suspect."

"Oh boy." She shifted her weight from one leg to another. "I can't believe that Walter would ever hurt me."

"For both of your sakes, I hope you're right."

Penny's brow furrowed. "Even though we weren't from the same set of parents, I loved him, you know. I thought he loved me too. Maybe something happened along the way. I wasn't the nicest person to him in recent years." She picked up her arms and let them fall at her side. "Yet he'd always been there, right up until I took refuge in your home. Was it my fault?"

"You can't blame yourself for other peoples' choices, Penny."

"I know." She walked around the small room. "It's just hard not to…never mind. Boy, I haven't been this anxious since nationals in '02." She grinned nervously. "Think they'd be upset if I just mailed them the check and got it over with?"

Yvette laughed. "But then your supporters would be disappointed."

"Oh yes, we can't do that, can we? God forbid we disappoint the people!" She sighed and let her head fall back as she looked at the ceiling. "I'm so tired of all this, Yvette. It's like Sam said, I'm on a racing freight train, out of control, and I can't get off."

"Sure you can. It might take awhile, but you can."

She turned to Yvette with a small smile. "Wanna know something? I didn't need any help sabotaging my career. I was doing it to myself, on purpose, but I didn't realize it until I spent time at your house and had a chance to relax and think about my path and my future." She sighed. "It's time to retire. You know, go out on a high note."

"You're serious, aren't you!"

"Yes, I am. I know Esperanza and all those little girls out there who look up to me will be devastated, but I'm no longer doing this because I love it. I'm doing it just to keep the machine of my fame and fortune humming along. It's not worth it." She paused and blinked away the emotion filling her eyes. "I'd rather go out now while I'm still a champion. There's nothing sadder than an old, washed up figure skater trying to relive past glories."

"You're hardly old."

"I'm twenty-seven, Yvette, which is already getting up there. Give me five more years and I'll be ancient in this sport!"

"Well, if I were you, I'd sleep on this a little bit, make sure it's what you really want to do."

"I have for almost a week! My last competition is in July, and then I'll announce my retirement. It'll give me enough time to wind down and finish up any obligations I still have."

Yvette kept her focus on her, and she saw that Penny meant every word she said. The woman was completely focused on ending her career and moving on. "I see. You've obviously given this some thought."

"Yes, a lot of thought." She smiled, relief evident on her face now that she aired her plans to someone besides herself. "And I'm going to stay here in Miami, see if I can repair the damage I've done in my relationship with my parents. And maybe I'll do some coaching or teaching. Who knows? One thing I know for sure is that I need to take a little time just to get away from the sport and try to figure out how to live as a normal human being."

"I think that's great, Penny. I'm glad too that Espie will have a ring-side seat in all this, because she thinks this is such a glamorous life. She's witnessed from your experience that it isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"I hope so! I think Sam would want to strangle me if Espie followed me blindly along the same path!" She laughed.

Yvette listened to Sam's voice in her ear. "They're ready for you."

"Alright, let's do this and get it over with. I love being able to help the hospital, but this whole business with people trying to kill me, or whatever..."

"Don't worry. We won't let that happen." Yvette held out a hand and opened the door, ushering her out into the hall.

Penny followed Yvette into the waiting crowd. She waved to the people in the atrium, shook hands, gave everyone an electric smile, and did her job as she presented the oversized check to the hospital board. Then it was time to leave. Yvette walked beside her with Fiona flanking her other side, and Jack and Jesse covered her from the front and back. The people on the lower level pressed in, making it difficult to move toward the exit. Her four bodyguards watched all around them for something out of the ordinary, and Sam and Michael cleared the way for her to leave. They made it out without incident. Penny breathed a sigh of relief.

_It's not over yet_, Yvette thought as they crossed an open courtyard to get to the limousine parked at the curb.

A shot rang out and hit the pavement in front of Sam and Michael. They looked up, searching for the source. Another shot went wild, and they all ducked and hurried toward the car. The sniper was fast, quickly firing repeatedly as they picked up their pace.

When the shooting started, Walter came out of nowhere. "Penny!" Before anyone could react to his appearance, he leaped at her and took her down to the pavement, just as a bullet came whizzing right at her. Michael, Sam, Jack and Jesse aimed helplessly up at the shooter. The sniper was too far away for them to fire off anything that would be an effective defense.

"Walter!" Penny screamed, but Jesse and Jack pulled her to her feet and dragged her toward the hospital. They shielded her with their own bodies while she fought them, calling her brother's name and trying to get to his side. "Walter! Get up!"

Suddenly, the shooting stopped, and they all looked up. The sniper was gone.

"What happened?" Fiona squinted up at the perch and saw nothing. "Where'd the shooter go?"

Michael responded. "The cops probably got him." He turned his attention to the open area behind them where a small crowd gathered. Penny stood with Jesse's arms around her, her gaze locked on the scene, tears ruining her makeup. She fought against him, trying to get down to the ground, but Jesse held her tightly. Finally giving up, she leaned her head into him. He held her gently and cradled her head with his hand as she cried into his shoulder.

Before the threat had passed, Sam and Jack knelt on the concrete, putting pressure on Walter's back and chest with their hands and suit jackets to attempt to stem the flow. Walter's shirt was covered in blood. Medical personnel streamed out of the hospital and approached them to assist, and eventually, they urged the two men to back off. As he stood, Yvette handed Sam a towel, and he wiped Walter's blood from his hands.

"Sam, is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know, Mike, he got hit pretty bad. Between the angle the bullet entered and where it exited, he's lucky it didn't go straight through his heart." Sam's attention strayed to the scene across the street. The police emerged from the high rise with the shooter. "Who is that guy?"

"I'm not sure, but I think that's Penny's ex, Brandon."

Sam peered at him as his escorts shoved him into a waiting patrol car. "Yeah, I think you're right. I wouldn't have recognized him, though. He's scruffed out since the last photos of him and Penny were published. I never would have recognized him."

Yvette asked, "Why was he trying to kill Penny?"

"The cops will probably figure it out. Now it's just a matter of finding Reyna." Michael said. "Jack? Let's go check out that address we have on her."

Jack eyed Michael. "You found something?"

"I did," Sam replied. "Shortly before we got here, my buddy came back with an answer on that IP address and where it was used. It matched the address on Reyna's driver's license. Don't know if it's still valid or not, but it's worth checking into."

"Sam, you might want to get changed," Michael said as he glanced at his friend.

Sam looked down at his bloodied shirt and jacket and sighed. "Another suit ruined. Sorry, honey."

Yvette nodded. "It's okay, it was for a good cause. Let's get Penny and go home. We'll find out where they're taking Walter and then after we're all changed, we can take her over to the hospital."

"Just be careful," Michael urged with a stern expression. "We don't know what Reyna's planning. She never showed to the event, not even late. She could still be out there with other ideas."

"Agreed. Keep in touch, Mike." Sam put his arm around Yvette and led her to Penny and Jesse.

Penny was so upset, she wouldn't let go of Jesse, so he went with them to Sam's house. Once they were safely inside, Yvette coaxed her upstairs to change and clean up her face. Her heart went out to the woman. She knew the pain of having someone you love get shot, leaving their life hanging in the balance. She picked out something for her to wear, because Penny sat on the bed and didn't move, her eyes staring down at her hands, helpless to do anything at the moment.

"Yvette, I'm so ashamed. I really started to believe that Walter had something to do with this. But he didn't." She turned her eyes up to her. "He put his life in danger to save me!"

"Someone wanted us to think he was involved, and they made the evidence point to him. His own actions didn't help matters." Yvette sighed and sat beside her. "It wasn't your fault."

"So who was I4UPenny?"

"Sam is pretty sure it was Walter. He probably thought he was defending your honor, which makes what he did today even more heroic." Yvette put an arm around Penny's shoulders. With a smile, she said, "Face it, that guy loves you! You're his little sister, and no matter what happened in the past, he loves you."

"And all this time I hardly did anything to deserve it." Her tears began again, and Yvette held her close until it passed.

"It's okay." She rubbed her back and noticed Sam stood in the doorway, helpless to do anything to comfort her. He watched for a few moments before going to the bedroom to change.

He was buttoning his shirt when his phone rang. In two strides, Sam was at the dresser and snatched it up. "Yeah, Mike."

"Jack and I are at Reyna's house. From the looks of things, I sure hope she rents. Anyway, we don't have to worry about where she is, because she's been here all the time."

"Uh oh, why do I have the feeling that this isn't good, Mike?"

"She's still alive, if that's what you're thinking. She's being rushed to the hospital as we speak, and the police are collecting a lot of evidence. This time he got sloppy. The bullet casings have prints on them, and he left a few other things. It was Brandon, Sam. Looks like he was staying here, and that's why there was no evidence he was in town. I don't know how he and Reyna were connected in this whole thing, but I did find a photo on a bulletin board in the kitchen. Looked like she and Brandon got a little friendly."

"Great. He's quite the Romeo, huh."

"I've got this feeling that unless Reyna is able to talk, we'll never get the whole picture of what happened."

"Maybe it doesn't matter. At least not as far as Penny's concerned. Two people who hated her and wanted to destroy her life got caught up in their own plot and will come out worse than Penny. Seems like fitting justice."

"Have you heard anything about Wally?"

"Not yet."

"Fi said she'd find out where he was going and call me." He paused. "Hang on, Sam. I think she's trying to get through right now. Yeah, Fi."

"Michael, I found out where Walter is being taken. It's not good. Sam, are you there?"

"Yep, still here, Fi."

"I think you better get Penny over there as soon as possible, in case...in case he doesn't make it." She gave him the hospital address, and said, "I'm going home to change and check on Sasha and the kids, and then I'll meet you all there."

"Okay, thanks, Fi." Michael broke the connection with her. "Did you hear that, Sam?"

"Yeah. We'll be on our way as soon as possible. See you there, Mike." He hung up, stuffed the phone and his things in his pockets, then hurried out of the room. Yvette still sat with Penny. "You two better get changed. We need to get over to the hospital."

The way he said it made Penny's blood run cold with fear. She jumped up and looked around. "Yvette, where are my clothes?"

"Right here." Yvette patted the outfit lying on the bed next to her. "I'll get changed. Hurry, Penny!"

Penny nodded, and somehow, through her tears, she was able to dress in a pair of jeans and a shirt. She quickly washed her face, and then Sam and Yvette rushed her out the door. Jesse accompanied her in the back seat. Everything was blurry, but one thing kept her from losing it completely: the firm grip of Jesse's hand holding hers. For the time being, he was a lifeline to keeping her sanity. Through the tears, she glanced at him and mouthed a thank you. She thought she saw a sympathetic smile on his face as he squeezed her hand, letting her know that he wouldn't let go until she was ready.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

School was out, so the kids were free, and with the case wrapped up, the WAR Agency shut down for a week while everyone took some needed R & R. Michael hired his mother Maddie to serve as a secretary, fielding calls they might get while they were gone. She took her responsibility seriously, confiscating everyone's phones to answer them, lining them up on her dining room table with a laptop and pad of paper nearby.

They'd been so wound up for so long, Sam wondered how the others would handle the time off. He wasn't as worried about Jack and Sasha, since Sam's plans for an isolated island vacation had turned into a group effort. He and Jack would be able to keep an eye on each other, make sure they were properly relaxing. The addition of Jack's family made the island a little more crowded, but at least Sam's kids wouldn't be alone, even if Jack's were much younger. It gave Espie a chance to hone her babysitting skills. Since the time he and Yvette enjoyed the island alone on their honeymoon, a larger beach house had been constructed on the west side, and the older cottage was on the north east end. Long sandy beach and acres of trees and jungle-like brush separated them, affording each family some privacy.

"Oh Dad, this place is so cool!" Espie gasped as she disembarked from the boat they rented to get there. She and Samuel took off running down the beach.

"You kids be careful!" Yvette called out after them, ending with a light laugh. "I wonder how many times they'll run around this island before they wear themselves out?"

"Maybe enough to get some Sammy and Eve time in," he smiled and kissed her lips.

"Hey, Sam, which house are you taking?"

Sam turned to Jack and pointed straight ahead at the cottage. "We were thinking of the house over there, the one we honeymooned in, but it's kind of small for the four of us. You've got little ones yet, so that one might be better suited for you." He glanced toward the west and saw the other house through the trees. "The guy who owns this place told me the other house has three bedrooms."

"Yeah, makes more sense for you to take that one." Jack grinned as he pulled Sasha to his side. "I've got no problem with being a little closer."

Sasha's smile grew. "If only our kids were a little older and they could go running off with yours. You guys enjoy unpacking and getting settled." She pecked Jack on the cheek. Then she settled Micah on her hip, took Ellie's hand, and she walked toward the cottage. She turned back for a moment. "Any dinner plans?"

Yvette responded. "I'm cooking tonight! Be over at six?"

"Sounds good! We'll be there!"

The men unloaded Jack and Sasha's suitcases and supplies for the week, and then Sam and Yvette got back into the boat and drove it to the dock in front of the other beach house. Two sweaty, out of breath kids waited for them on the porch that was outfitted with two rocking chairs and a hammock.

"See, I told you they were coming here," Espie huffed as she pushed herself out of the rocker and down the steps. She caught the line that Yvette threw her and tied the boat to the dock, using the knot she learned from her father. She tied up the bow and stern, keeping the boat snug, but not hitting the dock.

"Good job, punkin! I'll make a Navy girl out of you yet!"

"Oh Dad. Do you think you could still love me if I became a Marine?" She grinned up at him and saw the dejected look on his face.

"Of course, I'd still love you." Knowing she was only teasing, he leaned over the side of the boat with two pieces of luggage. "A Marine could carry both of these to the house. Think you can do it?"

"Sure, Dad." The larger one was on wheels, so she pulled it until she reached the sand. Then Samuel took the lighter one from her, and she took the bigger case in both hands, shuffled through the sand, and slowly made it to the steps. She was out of breath again.

Yvette came to the steps with a large plastic crate full of groceries. "Having a little trouble, Espie?"

"Mom, what'd you pack in this thing?"

"Your dad and I put our stuff together into one suitcase."

"Well, it seems like it's loaded with assault rifles or something, Mom! It's heavy!"

Yvette laughed. "I can assure you, sweetheart, that there are no weapons on this island."

For one second, Esperanza actually felt insecure. They had guns and ammunition around them on a daily basis, because often times they were needed in her father's work. But here, on this quiet, peaceful island with no other land in sight and no other boats, they were gun-free and there was no danger.

"You know, Mom, I'm not sure I've ever lived somewhere and felt like guns weren't necessary."

Yvette frowned. "I'm sorry, honey." She would have to talk to Sam about that. No kid should have to live that way.

"But when we're home, it's not like it was when I lived with my birth mom! I feel safe with you and Dad. The guns and stuff are just...there. I meant that it was weird not having them around, you know?"

She nodded. "I understand." She still didn't like the idea that her daughter thought that living that way was normal.

"Hey, you're holding things up here, ladies!" Sam stood behind them with a large cooler and another box balanced on top. "Now this, this is heavy!"

"Dad, I can take that box," Samuel said from the porch as he slipped it off the cooler and took it inside.

"Okay, I don't know what you did to these kids, Eve, but they're so helpful. What would people think if they knew?"

Both Yvette and Esperanza laughed at his joke. Then they picked up their loads and took them inside. After one more trip, the boat was empty. The nearest land with a store was almost two hours by sea. The boat had plenty of gas to make the trip, but they came prepared to hunker down for the week without support or an extra grocery run. Yvette stocked the kitchen and discovered that the stove and refrigerator ran on propane, which explained the large tank well away from the house, half hidden by bushes. A smaller tank took care of the waste water, and a third tank held potable water. The propane and water tanks were well stocked.

After everyone was settled in, the kids went back out to play in the aqua colored ocean. It was shallow and went out quite far before dropping off, which Esperanza discovered by shuffling her feet.

"Espie, what are you looking for," Yvette asked as Esperanza ran into the house and searched the kitchen drawers. She found a red towel, grinned and waved it in the air. "What are you going to do with that?"

"I'm making a flag, and I'm going to put it right where the sandbar drops off, so Sammy or Ellie don't accidentally go too far and drown."

Yvette stared at her, and then her look softened. "That's really sweet of you! You're probably going to need more than one of those though, don't you think? That sandbar has to extend for quite a ways up the beach."

"Yeah, but I'm going to set up more sticks, so we say we can only go in the water in this area, like they do back home. That'll be okay, right?"

Her mother's smile lit up her entire face. "You are such a resourceful girl, Espie. That's one of the things I love about you." She hugged her daughter, and Espie hugged her back.

"Dad's a good influence on me. You are too, Mom. Just so you know that." She turned out of Yvette's grasp and ran back outside, saying, "Thanks, Mom!"

Yvette still beamed when Sam came downstairs. "I've got everything unpacked up there." He glanced at her. "What's up?"

"Our daughter is amazing, Sam."

He snorted. "Like you didn't already know that?" He took her into his arms and kissed her, pulling her closer against himself. When he released her lips, he whispered, "You're pretty amazing yourself."

"We better check on the kids. Espie's setting up a perimeter for safe wading, and I want to make sure Samuel is keeping out of trouble."

A sigh escaped Sam and he released her. She moved out to the porch and watched the kids. Esperanza created a pole out of a long branch and stuck it in the sand near the end of the sandbar. Samuel collected more of them, and together they worked on setting up the boundary. The sticks were crooked and ugly, but it gave them something to do, and made a safe area for Ellie. Micah was too young to wade.

"Looks like they'll be busy for awhile." Sam snuck up from behind, put his arms around her midsection, and leaned her into his body. He nestled into her neck with kisses, knowing full well what that did to her. She playfully swatted at him, but he chuckled and continued, until she retreated inside with him.

Their kids didn't know much about the birds and the bees, although Esperanza had been asking questions lately. Questions about why, when their bedroom door was closed, they were off limits. She was satisfied with their safe answers, but it was only a matter of time when she would want more details. Until then, they left those to themselves as they enjoyed the quiet and each other.

* * *

"Mom?"

"Yes, Sammy?"

"What happens when it gets dark around here?"

"What do you mean?" She stopped stirring the pot of chili and turned to see him finishing up the table settings.

"There aren't any light switches on the walls, and there are these lamps all over the place."

"That's because there's no electricity here." Yvette answered with an amused tone, anticipating the freak out that was sure to come.

"No electricity? What kind of place is this, anyway?"

"What? You were having a great time until you discovered there was no electric power. It's not like we brought any video games or anything anyway, so what's the big deal?"

Samuel glanced around the room. "It's gonna be weird, that's all."

"It'll be fun." She pulled him into a one armed hug and kissed the top of his head. "I've got an idea. Why don't you go looking for some wood and branches for kindling, and we'll have a fire out on the beach tonight. Okay?" She smiled. "I made sure to bring marshmallows, and I think it's pretty safe to say we won't have any raccoon problems like when we went camping."

Samuel giggled. "Alright!" He left the house, trotted down the steps, and went on his assignment.

After supper, the sun sank in the west and they had a nice fire on the beach with Jack's family. They roasted marshmallows and watched the sparks snap up into a star-filled sky until Ellie and Micah lay on a blanket sound asleep, and Samuel and Espie fought to stay awake. Jack and Sam put out the fire, and their wives got the kids to bed. They said their goodnights, and Sam grabbed an oil lantern that was perched on a rock, taking it to light their way to the house. The kids were already settled in and asleep, so they headed to their room for some more quality time before drifting off in each other's arms.

Every day was spent in pretty much the same way. By the third day, however, the kids were getting bored. Sam anticipated that, so he and Jack took them in the boat to an area that was known for good fishing. Neither Samuel nor Esperanza had ever been fishing before. Since they were Axe children, it was high time they needed to learn. Sasha and Yvette stayed behind with Ellie and Micah. The little ones played in the sand while the women lounged on beach chairs and sunned themselves.

"Yvette, this has been the best vacation ever! Seriously! It's so relaxing here, no sounds of civilization...if we got stranded here, I don't think I could complain." She sighed and settled back into her chair.

"Our kids would go insane, I'm afraid. When they get older, they need stuff to do. I'm hoping they'll get into fishing and we can finish out the week with them doing a lot of that. I know Sam wouldn't mind spending all day out there on the water with a fishing pole in his hands."

"Jack too. Those guys are too much alike!"

They heard the sound of a boat motor nearing the dock, followed by the soft bump of the side making contact with the rubber bumpers. "That's odd. They just left a little while ago."

"They can't be back already!"

"You stay here with the kids, Sash. I'll see what's up." Yvette left her magazine face down on her seat and walked toward the beach house. A large white boat with no distinctive markings pulled up and moored to the dock. It had a conning deck and was almost too large for the dock. She shielded her eyes against the glare from the sparkling water, looked up, and asked, "Can I help you folks?"

A man about her age with wind-blown blonde hair and several days' growth of beard jumped off the boat and walked the deck to where Yvette stopped in the sand. His smile turned into a grin as he looked her up and down. "Hey, honey, we, uh, just had some engine trouble. My buddy's gonna get it fixed up real soon, but we needed somewhere to pull in for him to do it. Y'all don't mind, do ya, darlin'?"

"I suppose that's okay."

"You got a phone I can use to call the mainland? We're supposed to be somewhere, and we're already running late..."

"No, I'm sorry. We don't have a landline, and I don't think cell service works out here."

He looked at her in disbelief. "And you're all by yourself?"

"No. My friend and I are here with her kids, and our husbands are out fishing with the older kids. I could hail them on the radio and have them come back in. Sam's good with cars, maybe he can help you with the boat."

"Oh no, no, that's not necessary." He gave her a warm smile. "Teddy'll have ours back up and running in no time." He held out his hand. "Sorry for bein' so rude. My mama would smack me upside the head for not introducin' myself. Name's Ray Banatello. My friends call me RayBan."

"Ray. I'm Yvette." Taken aback by his forwardness, she gave him only her first name, took his hand and shook it politely. She was dismayed to find he held it a little longer than necessary. Yvette pulled out of his grip and gave him a cool look behind her sunglasses. "Well, Ray...if there's anything you need, we're over there on the beach."

"Thank you, ma'am. We shouldn't be too long and we'll be on our way." He winked at her.

Yvette didn't like the way he was looking at her, and that wink set her on edge. Maybe Esperanza was right; living without access to firepower might not have been the best thing. Then again, she was probably just overreacting. She'd spent way too much time around spies and gotten too involved in their cases. She really did need this vacation!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Lunch time came, and the two men with the big boat were still there. "Think we should be neighborly and provide them some lunch," Yvette asked Sasha as they took the kids and moved toward the house.

"That one guy seems to be doing a lot of work. Maybe you should radio Sam and Jack and have them come back in. Either he's got some serious issues with that boat, or..."

Ray stood on the dock and watched them as they went to the house. He gave them a short wave, and the women nodded back. Yvette scanned the horizon from the front porch, but she couldn't see their boat out on the water. A cruise ship sailed off on the southern horizon, much too far away to hail if they needed help. The two men seemed nice enough, but there was something about them that put both Yvette and Sasha on edge.

"You're right, Sash. Let's be on the safe side." They entered the house and Yvette gave Micah to Sasha. "I'm going to get on the radio and contact Sam."

The radio was in a small study upstairs. Its antenna stuck up through the trees on the rooftop. Sam instructed her in how to operate it just in case, so she knew exactly what to do. After plugging it into a battery and turning it on, she picked up the mic. "Seabreeze Two, this is Sandy Island. Seabreeze Two, this is Sandy Island. Please respond." She waited, but there was no answer. "Seabreeze Two, this is Sandy Island, please respond." Her voice rose with anxiety, afraid that maybe her instincts were dead on, and that their two visitors had gotten to Sam, Jack and the kids first. _No, I have to stop thinking like that!_

"Sandy Island this is the Seabreeze Two."

Yvette let out a breath of relief when she heard Sam's voice.

"Eve, what's wrong?"

"I'm glad you responded! I was starting to worry about you!"

"We're fine. The kids are having a blast, and we've caught a few fish. We'll be heading back shortly after lunch."

"Can you make it sooner?"

"I think so. What's up?"

"We have a couple of unexpected guests. Two men. They're docked on the west pier, with a big boat called the Hook 'n Bait. They said they had engine trouble, but they've been here for about an hour now, and we're starting to get suspicious."

"Understood. We're heading back now, should be there in about fifteen minutes."

"Okay. It's probably nothing, but...it just doesn't feel right."

"It's okay. We can go fishing again tomorrow. Keep the radio on until we get there, okay?"

"Will do. Thanks!"

Yvette ended the conversation and went back downstairs. Sasha finished making some sandwiches and when she heard footsteps on the wood flooring, she turned abruptly, a sharp knife in her hand.

"Woah, it's just me, Sash!"

"Sorry." She blew out a breath that stirred her bangs. "Did you get a hold of the guys?"

"Yeah." She sidled up to her and spoke softly. "Sam said they'd be here in about fifteen minutes."

"You don't think they're just a couple of guys in a fishing boat with engine trouble, do you?"

Yvette shook her head. "Do you?"

"No. I don't like this."

"Help is on the way. The radio is on upstairs, and it's set to the frequency Sam was using, so if you need to call for help...it's ready."

Sasha's eyes grew wide. "Yvette, what are you going to do?"

"Nothing, just pretend like we don't suspect a thing." She picked up the plate that held the sandwiches, pulled a pitcher from the refrigerator, and headed for the door. "I don't want them to think we suspect anything's out of the ordinary, so I'm going to offer them something to eat and drink. You just stay here and be cool. Worry about feeding the kids, okay?"

Yvette used her hip to push the screen open and walked to the dock with her offerings. "You fellas hungry?"

"Oh yeah, baby. Always hungry." Ray leered at her.

She said nothing, just gave him a sour look. "We made some sandwiches, thought you might be interested. And I brought along some lemonade."

"Well, that was mighty nice of ya, ma'am!" The other man popped up from below deck in the back of the boat and adjusted his ball cap. He was shorter, stockier, and hairier than Ray. With his friendly grin, he looked like he could be as cuddly as a teddybear. Then he surprised her when he wiped his hands on his tank top and introduced himself. "My name's Teddy, ma'am. Gotta excuse my brother. I think he got dropped on his head one too many times. Ain't got no sense or manners."

Teddy amused Yvette with his smooth talking, but she couldn't help but shake the feeling that something was off. She held up the plate. "Care for a sandwich, Teddy?"

"Thank you kindly, Miss..."

"Mrs...Axe. You can just call me Yvette."

"Mrs. Axe?" Ray looked at her strangely.

"What? Do I know you?"

"No, no, don't know you at all, Yvette." He shook his head slowly, a strange smile crossing his face. "Never mind." He took the plate from her and the pitcher and set them on the dock. "Sure appreciate your hospitality, ma'am. But me and Teddy gotta get back to work. I think we almost have this thing, and then we'll be on our way."

"Okay." Yvette turned and retreated to the house, trying to keep her steps casual and even. All the while, she wished she had a watch and could gauge how much time was left before Sam and Jack returned. To be on the safe side, she locked the screen behind her. Not that it would keep them out. The flimsy lock would only serve as a short buffer for her and Sasha to prepare themselves for an invasion. The back entrance that led to the tanks was locked as well, and the door closed and bolted.

"You really think they're up to no good," Sasha said as she watched Yvette move around the house securing it.

"I'm just taking out a little insurance, that's all." She glanced out the window and saw a boat coming from the southwest. "I hope that's Sam and Jack on their way in."

Micah dropped his sippy cup on the floor and wailed, getting Yvette's attention. Sasha concentrated on finishing Ellie's lunch plate, and Yvette tended to Micah. Sasha sat next to her daughter and faced the front door. To Ellie's right, Yvette sat with Micah to her right in the high chair at the end of the table. He feasted on peach baby food, but Yvette didn't touch her lunch. She wanted one hand free in case she needed to mount a defense.

While she'd been upstairs communicating with Sam, she did some snooping around the desk in the study. In one drawer she found a nine millimeter handgun, with ammunition in the same drawer. It horrified her, knowing now that the gun had been there all the time, unsecured. But if they were in a crisis, she thanked God for providing them with a means to protect themselves if necessary. At the moment, she had the gun strapped to her thigh under a beach wrap. She was the only one who knew it was there.

She heard Sasha's uneasy breathing and turned to her. "It's going to be okay, Sash. You'll see."

"Now you know why I don't join you all in the action. I couldn't handle the stress!" She put on an uneasy smile.

They listened as the other boat pulled up to the dock and heard voices. Yvette knew she should have gotten up to see who it was, but fear gripped her. She'd heard stories about modern day pirates, and wondered if these men were involved in such a thing. Would they kidnap them and leave the kids behind? Or would they just try to have their way with them, take whatever supplies they wanted, and be gone? Whatever the case, in a little while Sam and Jack would be there, and it would be four against...

They heard shouting.

"Oh no," Sasha cried and jumped out of her seat. She grabbed Ellie and picked her up. "Yvette, we need to run, now!"

Yvette stood, grabbed Micah, but instead of going for the back door, she moved to the front.

"What are you doing?"

"Wait!" Yvette glanced out the living room window and studied the scene before turning back to yell to Sasha. "Sash, it's okay! Jack and Sam are back!" She moved to the front door, unlocked it, and hurried out to the dock.

Sasha watched in horror. Not sure what else to do, because she knew that her friend would never rush into danger with her godson accompanying her, she followed. As she neared the dock, her confusion grew. Their men stood with the strangers, locked in their grips, but it wasn't a fighting stance. There was a lot of back thumping, laughing, and grins going around.

"Honey, come here!" Jack beckoned her when he saw her standing on the end with Ellie riding her hip. "You're not gonna believe this! Come on over here and meet these guys."

"You know them?" Sasha studied the two men who apparently were not the strangers they at first seemed.

"Yeah, this is Ray Banatello, and his brother Teddy. They're twins."

"We already met," Yvette said with a sheepish smile as she nodded to the two men, inwardly kicking herself for being paranoid.

"They don't look the same." Sasha studied Ray, who was tall, muscular, and blonde with brown eyes that hid behind classic Rayban sunglasses.

"They're fraternal twins," Sam explained. "RayBan was in the last SEAL team I trained, and TBear served under Jack about that same time, wasn't it, guys?"

"Yeah, these guys were the best commanders we ever had. Ain't that right, Teddy?"

"You bet!" Teddy sat on the side of his boat and smiled at the two women. "Lordy, I never ever thought I'd see you two guys hitched! Never in a million years!" He winked at them. "And such fine lookin' ladies, sweet and polite too." He tipped his hat to them.

"They made us some lunch, although Yvette here didn't look like she quite trusted us." Ray said with a smirk. "'S alright, Yvette. If I were you, I'd be careful too."

"This is my wife, Sasha," Jack introduced her to them. "And my kids, Ellie and Micah."

"Woooheee, too much shock in one day," Ray said as he waved his hat like a fan. "I don't think I can take too many more surprises." He glanced at the Seabreeze Two and saw the two kids standing on the deck watching the drama unfold. "Are these yours, Sam?"

"Yeah, they are," Sam answered with a grin, and he motioned for them to get off the boat. "We adopted Esperanza after we had Samuel."

"Samuel." Teddy snickered. "Dang, he looks like you too, Sam! Yvette, you better teach that boy how to be a gentleman, or he'll wind up just like his daddy, and..."

Ray slapped his thigh to make him shut up. "Sorry, Teddy's got no manners, either."

Yvette couldn't help laughing at the two. "You know, ten minutes ago I was ready to blow some heads off if necessary. Now, oh boy, I feel silly for being so worried."

"Pretty hard to 'blow off some heads' without a gun," Jack said.

"Not really." She flipped back the side of her wraparound skirt to reveal the weapon. "I found it unsecured in the desk in the study."

Ray studied her leg, his head tilted crazily. Then he straightened and turned to Sam. "You got yourself one tough lady there, Axeman!" He slapped Sam's shoulder. "Good thing, too, because I don't think any other kind of woman could put up with you!"

The men laughed, and the women knew that there were a lot of inside jokes and history that these men shared, things that they would never be privy too. They just shook their heads.

"We should probably go in and get some lunch for everybody," Sasha said. "Jack, did you guys eat anything out there?"

"We had some snacks along, but nothing really for lunch."

Sasha rolled her eyes. "I knew I should have checked out that basket you took with you! Men!"

"We'll rustle up something. Kids, come on with us. We'll let your dad hang out with his friends, and they can come in when they're ready."

"Thanks, Eve." Sam kissed her cheek. Ray and Teddy whistled, and Yvette blushed before turning away and hurrying up to the house with the kids and Sasha.

"I feel like such an idiot," Yvette said under her breath.

"You didn't know who they were. They could have been trouble!"

"I know. But still, I feel like I overreacted."

"Don't worry about it. It's over." Sasha opened the door and the kids followed her inside. Yvette brought up the rear and glanced back to see Jack and Sam talking with Ray and Teddy, everyone wearing grins and looking like they had a lot of catching up to do.

The two stayed the day, because their boat was truly in need of repair. Sam and Jack spent the afternoon going over it with them, shaking their heads at the amount of jury-rigging that ultimately failed. At supper, which was shared around a very crowded table, Jack announced, "I'm taking RayBan to the mainland tomorrow to pick up some parts. That boat isn't going anywhere until we get them replaced."

"It ain't gonna be cheap, either," Ray added. "We got that boat for next to nothing when we were discharged from the Navy. Had dreams of makin' a livin' fishin' with it. But it's been nothin' but trouble since we got it. I'm just about ready to sink it way out there somewhere." He flapped his hand toward the ocean.

"He says that all the time, and then when we get it fixed, he can't wait to get out on the sea again."

"Should have stayed in the Navy," Jack said. "At least then you wouldn't have to worry about fixing the boat."

"Yeah, but you think they'd ever make me commander of one of them things? No way!" Ray laughed. "You boys, on the other hand, if you hadn't gone to the special ops stuff..."

"I wouldn't change a thing," Sam said, then stopped himself and amended his statement. "What I mean, is there are some things I would change. But as far as being a SEAL and getting into the covert stuff, I've never regretted that."

"Me neither. It was tough, but those were some of the best years of my life. 'Til I met Sasha, of course."

Sasha gave him a knowing grin and nodded. "Yeah, sure. You had to add that qualifier to make sure you didn't tick me off."

"Yeah, I wanted to make sure I had a place to sleep tonight!"

The kids sat eating their meal, wondering what all the adults were laughing about. The two friends of their dads were funny most of the time, but some of the jokes went over their heads. They all assembled on the beach for a fire again, and Teddy brought out a guitar and played by the firelight. Ray sang with him, songs from long before any of the kids were born or their parents got together. It was a fun night, and they fought sleep harder than usual, but with all the fresh sea air and the excitement of the day, they were worn out.

"RayBan, you guys sure you want to sleep on the boat," Sam spoke softly as he carried Esperanza to the house and they walked with him. Teddy graciously took Samuel, and Yvette carried the lantern.

"Oh yeah, not a problem, Axeman," Ray said. Using Sam's nickname made it feel like old times again, although now they were civilians, not commander to seaman. "We're used to sleeping on the boat."

"Okay. The weather report was calling for rain tonight, so if you aren't afraid of getting wet, I guess you'll be fine."

"Hey, she may not run, but the Hook 'n Bait is water-tight. That's one thing I can guarantee," Teddy responded proudly.

Teddy took Samuel up to the room Yvette directed him to, and Sam put Esperanza down on her bed. He covered her with a light blanket and left the room. Ray stood in the hall watching, amazed.

"She's getting a little old to be carried around like that," Sam said with a smile. "But sometimes when she's out, there's no waking her up without her being cranky. It was better to just pick her up."

"Still can't get over you bein' a dad, Axeman."

"Times change, RayBan. You just have to find the right woman to make it all worth it." He smiled at his wife and put his arm around her. "You guys want to hang out a little longer? Eve could make some coffee."

"Nah, we better go get some shut-eye. At least I need to. Jack and I are gonna have a long trip goin' to Miami to get the parts, and then we have to come back and install 'em."

"You can take your time. We're here for another two days yet. We're leaving Saturday for home." He released Yvette and she went to their room, waving goodnight to Ray.

Ray waved back with a smile. "Jack said you guys were out here to get away from it all. Not really fair of us to rain on your parade."

Sam led him downstairs, where they could talk and not disturb anyone.

"Don't worry about it, RayBan. It's been great to see you and TBear again." He gave Ray a genuine smile. "See y'all in the morning? Eve will have breakfast ready before you and Jack go."

"Alrighty, sounds mighty fine. That little lady's a good cook! You really got lucky with her, I'm tellin' you, man. Don't ever let her go!"

His smile widened. "Considering all I went through to get her, there's no way I'd give her up without a fight."

Ray smiled, and Sam saw envy in his eyes. Then Ray left the house and made his way down to the dock. A light burned inside the Hook 'n Bait, illuminating his way over the boards. Sam closed the door behind him and locked up for the night. It was out of habit, and he didn't even realize he'd done it.

Yvette waited for him in bed and curled herself around him when he slipped in beside her. She smelled deeply of his skin and moaned. "I love the scent of the ocean on you. It brings back memories of when you saved me."

"We've come a long way since then." He ran his hand up and down her back as she lay against his side.

"Yes we have." She let out a long breath. "Sam, I'm sorry I overreacted when your friends arrived."

"It's okay, you didn't know who they were."

"Ray's a real flirt. He was looking at me, and made a few comments that put me on alert."

He turned his head and looked down at her in the moonlight that filtered through the filmy curtains. "You want me to talk to him about it tomorrow?"

"No, please, don't! Once he learned I was married, he behaved himself. It's nothing worth getting upset about." She ran her hand over his chest and up his neck to rest against his jaw. "Let's forget about them now." Her hand coaxed his head to turn so his lips fitted over hers, and they easily lost themselves in each other.

* * *

RayBan and TBear were on their best behavior the next day. They complimented Yvette on the breakfast she cooked, and TBear even offered to help clean up the kitchen afterwards.

"That's sweet of you, Teddy, but I've got helpers who can take care of this." She glanced at Samuel and Esperanza, who grabbed empty plates off the table and took them to the counter. "Why don't you and Sam go hang out on the porch, or the beach, or something?"

"Yeah, we could go around to the east side of the island. There's no sandbar over there, and we can go in a bit to do some fishing."

"Sounds like a great idea! Thanks again for breakfast Yvette. That was fantastic!"

"You're welcome!"

TBear followed Sam outside. Jack and RayBan had already left for Miami, so they took a couple of rods off the Hook 'n Bait and walked up the coastline with them, a tackle box, and a net. "I've heard this is a good spot for going after bonefish," Sam said as they approached the area that appeared less hospitable for playing in the water than the rest of the beach around the island. In the tall grasses, they found shrimp and small crabs for bait, set up their lines, and waded into the water. They both wore shorts, but the waves still washed over and soaked them nearly to the waist. Neither of them cared.

"I'm surprised I hadn't heard from you guys before this," Sam said as he cast out his line.

"We've been out of the service for about five years now, decided to quit at the same time and start up this business after our daddy died and left us his money." TBear's line flew out farther than Sam's and he reeled it in. "Mama told us to go do something constructive with it, so we figured we'd get into the fishing business. Might as well do somethin' we love, right? So anyway, we were in the Gulf, had the best luck there, until that whole oil well business. We're still tryin' to bounce back from that."

"Sorry to hear it."

"Yeah, well, not much you can do when man tries to mess with nature." He snapped his gum, flicked out his line again, and let it dance on the water a little before pulling it back in. "We, uh, we've been hauling passengers and sometimes cargo across the Gulf, or between Miami and the Bahamas. It's turning into a pretty nice side job."

Sam glanced at him. "It's not illegal, is it?"

TBear met his eyes. "Not always. Oh come on, Axeman, you know what it's like! You get sneaky lookin' guys comin' and askin' for a ride somewhere, no questions asked, and you know they're black ops, so you just roll with it."

"You're sure they're our black ops, and not some foreign power's?"

"That's the story, and we're stickin' to it." TBear grinned.

Sam sighed and shook his head. "You could be getting into some big trouble, TBear. Be careful."

"We do the best we can with what we got, Axeman." He stared at the rolling waves. "Sometimes you gotta do things you don't wanna do to get the results you want."

"Doesn't make it right."

"Like you and your friends never bend the law, or the truth, to achieve a satisfactory ending to your cases?" Sam didn't reply, and TBear grinned. "I knew you'd say that."

"Just watch what you guys do, TBear. We lost too many men from bad judgment or missteps."

"Yeah."

The men fell into silence, thinking about all the men they knew from the past who made it home, albeit in a box. They lost some good guys over the dumbest things. And there were some times where Sam never should have walked away alive, but he did. It wasn't fair. That was life, and it was those close calls and brushes with death that gave them the drive to survive and party hard afterwards. He couldn't imagine what things would have been like if he'd had a wife and family back then. Well, he had the wife, and he couldn't stick around with her. Thank God there had never been any kids to suffer the fallout of his crazy lifestyle.

"Hey, Axeman."

"Yeah?"

"How do you deal with things now? I mean, you've got responsibilities you never had before." He said the word as if it were a curse.

"I still go out and do my job, but I make sure I don't take so many stupid risks, and I come home in one piece. A bruised, cut, or cracked one piece, but I'm alive." He chuckled. "And I don't drink like I used to. When you've got kids watching your every move, you realize that having three or four..."

"Or more," TBear added with a grin.

"Yeah...that many in a night is not a good example."

"You always were the most responsible one," TBear said. "Apparently, that hasn't changed. I gotta give you a lot of credit for that, man. A lot of credit." Something tugged on his line. "Hey, I think I got something!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Sasha didn't come around to visit the next day, so Yvette decided to go see her in the late morning. _Maybe one of the kids is sick. Or maybe after yesterday she just wants to hole up and get away from everybody for awhile. I'll just stop by, see what's up, and if she wants to be alone, I'll go back to the house. _She felt safe leaving Samuel and Esperanza alone to read in their rooms and get out of the sun. It was proving to be a hot one that day, so she couldn't blame them for wanting to stay inside. She grabbed a couple bottles of water and walked along the beach until she reached the point where Sam and TBear were still fishing.

"You guys just can't get enough, can you?"

"Hey, TBear caught a tuna! That's pretty rare in these waters." Sam reeled in his line and came out of the water.

"I brought you something to drink, and then I'm going over to see Sasha. She didn't come around this morning, so I thought I'd check to be sure everything's okay. Jack didn't say anything about them having a disagreement or anything, did he?"

"No. Seemed like everything was okay." Sam took the bottle from her, twisted off the cap, and drained half of it in one gulp.

"You better go back to the house and get some more water. And you're getting sunburned, mister." She touched a finger to his nose and saw it turn white where she pressed. "Yep, you're getting burnt."

"Yeah, yeah. We were going to head back in a little bit."

"I'll probably be back in time for lunch. If not, make something for the kids, okay?"

"Sure thing." He kissed her lips quickly and took another drink before going back out into the surf.

Yvette took a trail that went through the island and came out onto the crescent shaped beach. The little cottage sat nearly dead center in the crescent's curve. It was a good vantage point to see everything. Sasha was nowhere on the beach, but she spied Ellie playing in the sand a few yards away.

"Ellie? Where's your mama?" She looked back at the cottage and noticed a boat parked at the dock. It wasn't the Seabreeze Two.

"Mama's inside with the men."

"What men?"

Ellie shrugged, and a terrible feeling hit Yvette in the pit of her stomach. Without thinking, she picked up the little girl, turned, and took the path back to the house, running as fast as she could while carrying a small child. Her breath came in gasps as she trotted up the steps and into the house. "Sam! Sam, are you here?"

Esperanza came downstairs, puzzled at her mother's outburst. "Dad went fishing with TBear, remember?"

"Where's Samuel?"

"He's upstairs reading." She paused. "Mom, right after you left, some guys knocked on the door asking for RayBan and TBear. I told them they weren't here. Then they took off in their boat and went that way." She pointed northeast, toward the cottage.

"Take Ellie upstairs with you, leave her with Samuel and tell him to watch over her. Then you go run and get your father, and tell him to meet me at the cottage!"

"Where's Micah?"

"I don't know, and that's what's really got me worried. Just do what I told you. Now!"

Esperanza grabbed Ellie and ran up the stairs. Yvette didn't wait around to see if her daughter would follow her instructions. She didn't have to, because she trusted Espie completely. She pulled the gun out of the cupboard where Sam put it for safe keeping. As she ran out the back door, Yvette made sure it was loaded. She took a detour along another path that led to the back to the cottage and arrived in a couple of minutes.

The back door was open and Yvette heard crashing noises and screaming. Without a doubt, Sasha was in trouble. She carefully approached the screen door and checked it, relieved to find it unlatched. Unless the owners had oiled it in the past nine years, she knew it squeaked, so it was a matter of timing it just right to get inside without being detected. Sasha let out a blood-curdling scream, and Yvette took her chance.

She got inside, moved out of the kitchen, and entered the small living area. The room was a mass of shattered pieces of furniture, pictures askew on the walls, and the floor was wet. Her foot slipped and she realized it was just water, a broken glass smashed against the baseboard. Yvette flattened her back against the wall next to the threshold to the bedroom. It sounded like only one person inside with Sasha. The sheets rustled, the bed knocked against the wall, and Sasha cried and whimpered for help. As she spun into the room and positioned herself to be a small target, she undid the safety and aimed.

"Get off her right now."

Sasha screamed again and struggled, but the man had her pinned and cuffed to the bed. Seeing one of her ankles shackled, Yvette moved forward, pressed the end of the barrel into the back of the big man's skull, and spoke through clenched teeth. "If you don't get off her right now, you're gonna be breathing through a new hole in your head."

The man froze and put his hands to the sides, putting his weight on Sasha. She couldn't breathe and started hyperventilating.

"Up! Now!"

Yvette saw a shadow pass over the bed and turned in time to see another stranger take a dive for her. She pulled her attention away from the first man and swung upward. The force of her forearm caught him in the throat and caused him to collapse on the floor. She kicked him as he went down, sending him crashing into the wall. He lay unmoving. She turned back to the other man, who scrambled off the bed and came at her. Yvette fired the gun, hit him square in the chest at point blank range, and his eyes grew wide as he dropped to the floor. She had to backpedal quickly to get out of his trajectory.

"Eve!"

"In here, Sam!" Yvette held the gun on the two men and approached the bed. Sasha's clothes had been ripped and she desperately tried to cover herself. Yvette pulled the comforter from the foot of the bed and wrapped it around her as Sam entered the doorway.

His chest heaved as he asked, "What happened?"

Yvette used the gun to point toward the floor. "I came in and that guy was on top of Sasha. The other one tried to jump me while I had the gun on his friend."

Sam checked them both for a pulse. "This guy next to the wall is out, but alive. This other guy...he's not gonna make it."

Yvette didn't feel good about shooting to kill, but their lives were in danger. Knowing she was justified still didn't make it any easier to speak without her voice shaking. "I...I had no choice, Sam."

"I know, honey. It's okay." He spoke softly and approached her, then gently pried the gun from her fingers.

Sasha curled into her, sobbing, hanging onto her friend as if she would be lost if she didn't.

Sam reached into his pocket, found his keys, and used his handcuff key to unlock the hardware on Sasha's ankle. Instinctively, she pulled her leg toward herself and Sam missed getting kicked in the face by a few inches. "Was she..."

"I don't know, Sam. She's too distraught right now to ask." Yvette just held and rocked her while Sam handcuffed the unconscious man.

He checked the other guy again. "He's dead." He heard a boat engine that sounded like the Seabreeze Two and darted out of the cottage. He saw Jack and RayBan standing side by side as Jack cruised past. They took a long look at the boat tied up to the dock. Sam ran to the end of it and waved at them to come back, so Jack turned the boat and pulled in on the other side.

Jack asked, "What's up, Axeman? Who's boat is that?"

TBear arrived at the same time with an automatic rifle. He stared at the boat and his face turned white. Sam noticed it, and he also saw that Ray recognized it. "Okay, you guys better start talking. Who does this boat belong to, and who were those two men who broke into the cottage?"

RayBan tied up the boat as Jack turned off the ignition and jumped over the side. He ran to the cottage to check on his wife. TBear followed him inside.

"Ray, what the hell is going on?" Sam grabbed him by the arm and wouldn't let him go any farther, his eyes boring into Ray's.

"The boat is owned by Arturo Diaz."

"Crap." Sam knew that name. He and Michael had a couple run ins with him over the years. "You're in bed with Diaz? Please, don't tell me you're that stupid!"

"No, we're not. We just did a couple runs for a friend of his, that's all. It wasn't our fault that the Coast Guard got wind of the last one and captured his guys after we dropped off the delivery." He swallowed. "We found out later that the cargo was some stuff that Diaz heisted and was trying to get out of the country."

"His boys must have tracked you here, and when they were hoping to find you two in the cottage, they found Sasha and the kids instead." His eyes suddenly grew wide. "We've got Ellie at the house, but where's Micah?"

"I don't know, man. Jack and I just got here!"

Sam shoved him toward the boat. "Search the boat! I'll check the perimeter!" Sam walked the beach, heading east, until he located one of the paths that meandered through the interior of the island. He called out for Micah, hoping the boy would cry or make some noise if he were within hearing distance. There was nothing, no sign of him. After about an hour of fruitless searching, Sam returned to the big house and got on the radio to call the Coast Guard. They had a gift-wrapped present for them, and they needed help finding a missing child.

* * *

The Coast Guard arrived with a boat carrying a crew of six. Sam met them at the dock and reported the situation before the commander sent his men off to search the island. A helicopter circled overhead searching the water. Sam looked up at the chopper and prayed that it was unnecessary, because if Micah was in the water, it was too late to save him. He returned to the cottage and found Yvette standing in the midst of the broken up living area. She hugged herself and paced outside the closed bedroom door.

"Is Sasha okay?"

"I don't know yet. There's a doctor in there with her and Jack." She fought the rising emotions, but it was a losing battle. Sam reached for her, held her in his arms, and let her cry into his shoulder. Between the attack and Micah missing, he couldn't blame her for breaking down. When she calmed herself, she took a half step back and looked up at him with red eyes. "Thanks, honey. Where are Espie and Samuel?"

"I told them to stay at the house, not go anywhere, and keep an eye on Ellie. Otherwise, I think they'd be out looking along with everyone else."

"We should join them." She swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"You sure? Sasha might want another woman here, if..."

"No, she needs Jack, and he's here. Let's go, help find Micah."

The sun was beginning to set and still they hadn't found him. It wasn't that large an island. They should have been able to locate him by this point if he were still there. Sam began to think that maybe he'd been taken away. Perhaps there was another boat, and the two men served as a distraction for Diaz's other men to take the boy as a bargaining chip. For what, Sam had no idea. If he could only contact Mike, he and Fi could work on their end with Jesse to perhaps find some clue. When Maddie insisted on taking all their cell phones, Sam suggested getting burn phones just for an emergency. But they had the radio, and everyone thought that would be good enough. He hated to say it, but he told them so.

"Hey, TBear!" Sam and Yvette left the cottage and found him in the brush. "You have a cell phone?"

"No, we've got a sat phone. Cells are too iffy on the open water."

"Can I borrow it? I need to call a friend."

"Sure. It's on our boat, on a desk in the front cabin down below."

"Okay. Thanks. You wanna continue searching, Eve, or come with me?"

"I'll just stick with you, and after you make the call, then we can look some more." She held tightly to his hand as he led her through the wooded area. She glanced around and said, "Sam, we're not on the path."

"I know. I just figured if we were going across the island, we might as well take a detour off the trail to see if we can find Micah."

"Good idea." She took a breath and called the child's name. "Micah! Micah!"

Other voices called out his name as well, but the heavy vegetation caused them to get muffled. They carefully picked their way through the hanging vines and small trees, skirting around gigantic webs that were home to intimidating spiders.

"Don't worry, they're harmless."

"You sure, Sam?"

"Positive."

"Good. Then next time you can run into one for me." She swiped the silk off her arm and kept moving. They came to a small clearing that was only a couple hundred yards from the back of the cottage. The waning sun broke through and shone on the dead vegetation on the ground. Their breaths caught in their throats as they saw the little boy they sought, lying in the shadows on his side, his hands tucked under his head.

"Sam, it's him," Yvette breathed at last. "Is he just sleeping?"

Sam got down on the ground and touched the boy, feeling his chest rise and fall gently with each breath. "He's alive, and he looks to be unharmed." Sam's head swiveled about, searching the area. "But how on earth did he get here? He's kind of far from the cottage, at least for a child his age to wander off alone."

"He's had all day to get here, Sam, and you know him, he's quite the crawler." Yvette knelt beside him and reached out to touch his ripped pant legs. Through the holes, she saw his little knees were scraped. "Let's get him out of here and back to our place, and then you can go back to Jack and Sasha's to let them know we have him. Ellie's still with the kids."

"Sounds like a good plan." He led her through the tangled vegetation until they came upon the path that led to their back door. "Espie? Samuel? We're back." Sam announced their arrival before entering, because he didn't want to startle them.

"Dad! Mom! You found Micah!" Espie approached and hugged them. "There are a couple of Coast Guard guys searching the Hook 'n Bait."

"I'll go let them know we found him."

Micah stirred awake and began to cry. "He's probably hungry, Mom. And thirsty."

"It's okay, we'll take good care of you, Micah." Yvette gave him to Esperanza, and she rocked and cuddled him in an attempt to settle him down until her mother was able to make him something to eat. She gave him a bottle with water in it, and after a few sips he tossed it aside. Espie picked it up, sat in a chair with him, and gave him the bottle again. He rejected it a second time. "Mom, you better hurry up. He's getting cranky."

"Working as fast as I can!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Sam walked the dock and stopped at the back of the boat. "Anyone on board?" He was greeted by silence. Not sure what to make of it, Sam made sure the gun he took from Yvette was loaded before he stepped over the side and got on deck. He went below and turned on a switch. It bathed the galley in light and illuminated his way to the front cabin where TBear said he could find the sat phone. The door was slightly ajar, and he carefully opened it. No one was inside the room. The sat phone was exactly where TBear said it would be, so he reached out to pick it up.

Suddenly, the door swung toward him with extreme force, pressing him into the hatchway. It stunned him, pain coursing through his back, and took his breath away. He dropped the phone and his grip on the gun loosened, and as he went down to the floor, someone took it from him. Through pain-glazed eyes, he looked up and vaguely recognized the man dressed as a Coast Guard crew member, but Sam knew he was one of Diaz's goons. The man grinned at him, watching Sam fighting to breathe.

"Where's the kid?"

Sam shook his head. Even if he could breathe, he wouldn't tell him.

In frustration, the man hauled back one foot and kicked Sam, sending him out of the way of the door so he could escape. He spoke into a sat phone. "We didn't find anything on the boat, and the kid doesn't seem to be on the island. We're getting out of here with the Coast Guard crew." He listened for a few seconds and his tone changed. "Yes, yes Mr. Diaz. Yes." He put the phone away and spoke to his companion. "Diaz said if we don't get the kid, we're dead. Let's go to that bigger house. I see lights on there now, so maybe someone's home. Maybe they know where the kid is."

_No! _Sam lay half in the cabin, half in the galley, gasping for air and not getting enough. He wanted to rise up and tackle them down before they went anywhere, but black spots danced before his eyes just seconds before he blacked out.

In the house, Yvette set a small bowl of rice cereal in front of Esperanza, and she fed it to Micah. They heard feet pounding up the front steps, and then the screen door opened. The man nearly tore it off its hinges as he pressed forward.

"Give me that kid, now!"

"No!" Yvette grabbed a heavy frying pan that she'd left on the stove that morning after cleaning it. She swung it in the air and it connected with the man's forearm. If he'd expected to immediately recover from it, he was disappointed. He cried out and grabbed his arm. Yvette swung it up and over her head, brought it down on his as hard as she could, and sent him down to the floor. One more swing, and the force of the impact with his face dropped him flat on his back, unconscious. With him out of the way, his companion shot at her. The bullet glanced off the edge of the pan and embedded itself into the ceiling.

Espie sat at the table, ducking, with no way to escape. Micah shrieked from fear, but she held onto him tightly. Then she had an idea. She dove under the table as the man took another shot at her mother and missed. With a yell, Yvette ran around the table and toward him. He wasn't expecting that. Espie silently cheered her mother on. All she could see were feet and parts of legs up to the calf. The table cloth cut off all visibility. Then she heard a loud shot, recognizing that it came from an assault rifle. A body fell against the table and pushed it away. Espie crawled out of his path in time for the man to have room to fall hard onto the floor.

"Ray! Where's Sam?"

"TBear sent him to our boat to get the sat phone."

"Oh god. Sam!" Yvette ran out of the house toward the disabled boat. "Sam!"

Ray ran after her, caught up, and held her back. "Wait, Yvette! Let me go, just in case there are more of 'em. You go on back in the house and keep an eye on those two boys. Don't want 'em wakin' up and causin' more trouble than they already have." He handed her a nine millimeter. "I take it you know how to use one of these."

"Are you kidding?" She smirked.

"Of course, you're married to Sam Axe. Knowing how to shoot a variety of firearms has gotta be a requirement." He watched her run back to the house. TBear came running toward him. "Hey, it's about time you got here! We need to check the boat for Axeman."

It took no time at all to find him. He lay on the deck in a very uncomfortable position, unconscious. "He's breathing real shallow, but he's breathing."

Fortunately for Sam, both men had been trained in field medicine and always came prepared with their own kit. In their line of work, they occasionally came across a ship in distress with at least one person in need of serious medical care. They carefully lay Sam flat on the floor and worked on him. Footsteps on the deck alerted them to someone above.

"I'll check it out," Ray said as he got to his feet. He didn't make it to the stairs before the Coast Guard ship's commander came down. "I got word that there was an injured man down here."

"Yes, sir, but my brother and I have everything under control." They heard a groan, and Ray turned. "See? He's comin' to!" He returned to Sam's side just as he blinked and opened his eyes. "Hey, Axeman, how ya feelin'?"

"Mmmm, like I just lost a fight." He gently probed his left side where he fell, and winced. "Crap. Broken ribs."

"Yeah, I'd say so," TBear agreed. "Can you breathe okay now?"

"Yeah. Just get me up. I'll be fine."

"Oh, we'll get you up, but you're getting bound up and taken back to Miami tonight."

"No. Can't leave...my family."

"It's okay," RayBan said. "I'll stay with 'em. You can go back on the Coast Guard ship with Sasha, Jack, and his kids. In the mornin', I'll get our boat fixed up and then TBear can drive it back to Miami, and I'll take your rental with Yvette and your kids. It'll be fine, really."

Sam shook his head. "I'm staying. We'll leave tomorrow...after your boat's...fixed."

"He always was a stubborn jackass," RayBan said and met Sam's eyes, gave him a salute, and added, "Sir!"

"Alright, if you insist. We'll send another patrol out here every couple of hours to check for any other intruders. You take care, sir. Good luck." The commander left them reluctantly. He returned to his ship with the three prisoners, Jack, Sasha, and Ellie and Micah. They left everything they came with on the island, not caring whether or not it was returned to them. Their paradise had turned into purgatory, and they didn't care if they ever saw it again, or anything that would remind them of it.

Yvette carefully slipped into bed beside Sam after making sure the kids were safely tucked into bed and the doors were locked. RayBan kept watch, and in the middle of the night, he would switch with TBear, who slept on the couch in the living room. It took her a long time to get to sleep, the day's events replaying over and over in her mind. Sam slept deeply, thanks to a sedative that Ray gave him. In the morning he would be feeling crummy, she had no doubt. They wanted to bind up his ribs, but Sam wouldn't let them, insisting that he was better off with them free so he could breathe easier. They compromised and put some oxygen on him. He wasn't usually a back sleeper, but he was that night.

The next morning, Ray and Teddy got out at sunup to fix the boat. By the time Sam awoke mid-morning, they were almost done. Ray fired up the engines and let them run for awhile. The sound brought Sam back to reality. Slowly and carefully, he sat on the edge of the bed. His entire side ached, and the broken ribs screamed at him. He ripped out the nasal cannula and stood, then shuffled to the windows to peer down at the dock. One of them had moved the rented boat back to their dock. Yvette and the kids were loading it with their things. He noticed the large suitcase was still in their room, so he picked up some clean clothes and went to the bathroom to take a shower and change. He was still in yesterday's clothes.

"Well, look who rose up from the dead," Ray teased as Sam trudged out to the porch after his shower. "You look...well, you look like hell, Axeman."

"Thanks, it's nice to see you too, RayBan." The corner of his mouth tipped up. "Where'd Jack and his family go? Back to Miami?"

"Yeah, they went with the CGs. They wanted to take you along, but you were stubborn and wouldn't go."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I remember. Thanks for watching over my family last night."

Ray shrugged. "No problem, man. It's not like we had anywhere to go, and it was our butts at risk too. Besides, we didn't wanna see anythin' bad happen to that kick butt gal of yours and those terrific kids." He grinned. "Man, you shoudla seen what she did! Your wife knocked one of those guys out with a fryin' pan! Three strikes and he was out! She was amazing!"

"I taught her a few moves, she just improvises sometimes."

"Wooohee, remind me never to get her mad!" Ray laughed.

"Is your boat ready to go?"

"Yeah. Just waiting 'til y'all are packed." Ray followed Sam's gaze up to the house. "I hope your buddy who owns this place doesn't get mad about the damage."

"No, I think he'll understand. But I don't think we'll be vacationing here any time soon, if ever." Sam smirked.

"Yeah, I wouldn't imagine you'd wanna come back."

"It's too bad. We had such good memories from our honeymoon." He shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed. The movement hurt his ribs, so he pulled his left hand out and let it hang at his side. Yvette and the kids stepped out of the house. She locked the door and turned away, trotting to catch up to them.

"We're ready. Let's get out of here, Sam!"

"Hey, we'll have to come by and see you in Miami," TBear said as he untied the boats and hopped onto the Hook 'n Bait. "We promise we won't bring any trouble with us! We're done dealing with shady characters. Scout's honor!"

"We'd love to have you visit," Yvette answered for Sam.

Sam got behind the wheel, backed the boat away from the dock, and took off with the Hook 'n Bait trailing behind them all the way to Miami. He wished Jack had been there to drive, because his side was really killing him. But Yvette didn't know how to drive the boat, and he just wanted to get home as soon as possible. He tried favoring his side, but after a half hour, he needed to lay down.

"Sam, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Eve." He protested too weakly for her taste.

"Baloney." She turned around and waved both arms in the air. Ray sped up and pulled the boat beside them.

"What's wrong?"

"Sam can't drive anymore."

"Okay, shut it down, Axeman. TBear'll take over!"

Sam wanted to protest, but he knew everyone was right. He could barely see straight at the moment. He was in no shape to drive. He slowed the boat until it glided to a stop and TBear could hop aboard. He took over the helm, and Yvette forced Sam below to get some rest. In another hour, they would be back in Miami.

As he settled in to the bed with Yvette lying on her side next to him to make sure he stayed, he asked, "How's Sasha? Did you hear anything?"

"She's fine, except for a few bruises." Yvette took a breath. "I got there just in time, Sam. If I hadn't stopped him, he would have violated her." She blinked rapidly, and he pulled her into his good side.

"It's okay. I'm really sorry. We never should have gone there."

"It's not your fault. You didn't know your friends would show up with some psychos chasing them!" She sighed and ran her hand over his chest. "Let's just face it. You, Michael, Fi, Jesse, our family...none of us can go anywhere without stumbling into trouble!"

Sam smiled against her hair and agreed. Together they relaxed and dozed while TBear got them back to Miami.

Thanks to his injuries, Sam was out of commission for a few weeks, taking an extension of his vacation to recuperate. He took advantage of the time to spend with his family. They never did get to discuss their lives and what needed to be jettisoned in order to make their finances fit, so he planned on having a family meeting to talk about it. As it turned out, Sam didn't have to worry.

"Hey Dad," Esperanza said as she came upon him in the yard. He lounged in a lawn chair, lazily watering the flower garden while sitting. In one hand he held the hose, in the other, a beer.

"What's up, punkin?"

"Not much." She sat in a chair next to him.

"Shouldn't you be at practice right now?"

Esperanza let out a deep sigh and sagged in the chair. "I'm not going, Dad. I quit."

"What?" He almost dropped the hose and stared at her. "What do you mean, you quit?"

"I stopped going to practice. I don't wanna be a figure skater."

"B-but Espie, you've got the talent, and the ability! Don't waste it!"

She smiled at her father. "Dad, let's face it. You don't want me to turn into another Penny O, do you? No, you don't, and I don't want to be one, either. Penny announced her retirement just before her last competition in Salt Lake City last Saturday. She and I had a long talk about it, and the choices she made." Esperanza leaned forward and placed her elbows on her knees, just like she'd seen her father do dozens of times when he was serious about something. Her eyes locked on his as she said, "I don't want to make a living like that. I'd rather do something that helps people. Maybe not an ex-spy going freelance, but maybe a nurse, or a doctor."

"That's...well...I wasn't expecting this."

"I know. And just so you know, I'm still kind of bummed about quitting, but I know it's for the best. I won't forget what I've learned and I'll still have fun with it, but that's all. Just for fun."

"You're absolutely sure about this?"

"Yes!" She jumped up and crossed to him, and she carefully gave Sam a hug. "Thanks for letting me make up my own mind, Dad." She kissed his cheek.

"You're welcome."

"Now, I'm gonna go over to Zoe's. See you later!" She skipped off to the garage, and a couple of minutes later she rode away on her bike.

Sam turned the spray back on to the flowers, nursed his beer, and thought about what just happened. He was in shock. Not that he wasn't relieved that his pocketbook would no longer take such a hit on a monthly basis. But he'd gotten used to the idea that some day he would witness his little girl doing a triple lutz in some foreign country as a member of the U.S. Olympic team. Now, she had other dreams to fulfill. She wanted to save lives. He was never more proud of her than he was at that moment, and he couldn't stop smiling.


End file.
